Crafting comfort and confidence

Finola Maynard (MDes 3D Materials Practice (Wood, Metal, Ceramics and Plastic) 2014), founder of Pop-Up Pottery Creative Healing, has been shortlisted as one of five charitable projects for a competition on TV. The Pop-Up Pottery Creative Healing initiative is competing for funding in The People’s Project. The People’s Project is a partnership between the Big Lottery fund, ITV, STV and the National Lottery that gives the public a say in awarding National Lottery funding to local projects across the UK.

Pop-Up Pottery Creative Healing is a portable pottery workshop that brings ceramic facilities to communities where there is a need for creative therapy. Through ceramic workshops, Finola teaches pottery skills to people experiencing depression and emotional issues such as bereavement or relationship breakdown.

“After graduating from the University of Brighton, I started running small workshops in the Brighton community. After working with the public for over a year, I realised that there was a demand and need for people to keep creative and socialise, to forget about their daily routine or problems. I wanted to take it further so I started working with children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).”

“With support from the Big Lottery Fund, I was able to run free workshops. The results were outstanding for the people taking part. It prompted me to go on a road trip to reach further communities.

“Being a part of The People’s Project has been a huge learning process. It provided an incredible opportunity to really get my project up and running.”

The workshops bring together children and adults with disabilities, elderly and lonely people and provide an engaging way to improve people’s health and wellbeing, as well as restoring people’s social skills and trust. The aim is to bolster confidence and make participants feel more comfortable engaging with their local community and making new friends.

You can vote for Finola’s project until 12pm on 3 April.