the fabric of loneliness – material test

goodmakes workshops are designed to be adaptable in order to work with diverse groups, from children to the elderly.

Here I am preparing for a workshop with the elderly in partnership with MHA Care and the local council, helping participants   to fight off loneliness by sharing their feelings and memories, coming together to create the ‘fabric of loneliness’ which will help them to form new friendships!

I tested new block-printing techniques using clay to be inclusive of elderly people with dexterity, hand coordination and strength challenges. Clay is a soft material so is easier to carve and make marks on with blunt tools.

 

The meant carving the clay at just the right time when the texture still soft but resistant.

When the clay dries, its porous surface remains absorbent so I was able to ink it up and print patterns as I would with linocut.

 

goodmakes baby shower workshop in Copenhagen

“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees or the stars; you have a right to be here. Whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.” (Max Erhmann, 1927)

This quote is from a favorite poem of mine, that I included in the goodmakes “ baby-shower” workshop I ran in Copenhagen a few weeks ago.
Today I am designing a fabric from the linocut prints we made, inspired by our own memories of childhood and the experiences and values of this world we would like to share with these two new beautiful beings.

I designed the goodmakes workshop format to be adaptable so that I could work with diverse groups of people, sharing their stories to inspire the fabric design. So far I have worked with children, migrants, at-risk teenagers, the elderly but this was the first time designing a fabric in celebration of new life.

 

Watch this space for the new fabric design!