Art has always been a big part of who I am and a way in which I could express thoughts and feelings without the need to use words. Understanding the benefits that engagement in art can have on wellbeing is why I wanted to pursue this as a career and be able to support other people. I have frequently been drawn to using textiles throughout my work, however, over the past year, I have been inspired by Ceramicists, such as Ros Pett-Chicken from Pontypridd-based Coop Ceramics. I have found a new love in using air dry clay after creating a series of small pinch pots. 

I enjoy using themes from nature in my workshop practice as well as in my personal art practice. I feel that clay, being a natural material, ensures that the theme of nature is ever-present throughout the process and outcome of art making. I thoroughly enjoy its sensory properties and the direct nature of engagement with clay. Using my hands as the main tool, I can be explorative as I manipulate a lump of clay into my very own creation, with no high expectations placed on the outcome. 

As a person, I am kind and compassionate and take a calm approach to my practice. I incorporate mindfulness activities to create a relaxed and present experience for those participating in my workshops, with a focus on the process of art making, aiming to achieve an increased sense of wellbeing.

For the pART of Pontypridd Art Trail, I decided to work with the ‘Friends of Ynysangharad War Memorial Park’ (FYWMP). I created this large, forcer-like, hand-built clay vase for their community garden, adorned with the marks, shapes, forms and illustrations produced by members of the public in Pontypridd. The public originally created these in the form of paintings produced during a nature-inspired workshop I facilitated recently in the FYWMP’s community garden. 

During the workshop, participants first went on a mindfulness walk around the park where they collected a range of natural objects along the way. The participants then used the materials collected as sensory inspiration to produce paintings using dark brown ink made from natural materials from a Graigwen Woods. These are now on display in the form of bunting in the community garden. 

In addition, the workshop participants built animal habitat boxes which they collaboratively decorated using clay, imprinted into its surface using the natural materials collected on the walk as aforementioned. These boxes have now been worked on further so that they can sustain the impact of the weather and remaining outdoors. The workshop aimed to be eco-friendly, only using natural materials like wood, clay and collected foliage from around the park, and hoped to increase the sense of wellbeing in those who participated. 

Since producing the forcer-like vase that further celebrates the participants’ artworks, I have decided to align its function with the purpose of the community garden, to grow edible items. I invite you to use your sense of touch to experience the purposefully tactile surface and form of the vase, and attempt to identify the different herbs planted in it through your sense of smell.

I would like to thank Ros Pett-Chicken of Coop Ceramics and the Friends of Ynysangharad War Memorial Park for their support throughout the process of making this work and for hosting both the recent workshop and resulting artworks for the trail.