COMMUNITY PROGRAMME
Learning through Craft
Community Craft Programme
With education through craft at its heart, The Guild is embedded within the heart of the local community with a thriving volunteer programme (In June 2013 the Guild was awarded a Go Wales Excellence Award for our work volunteer placement scheme with Cardiff Metropolitan University over the last ten years) along with a succesful 'Friends' Scheme.
The Guild is recognised as a social enterprise coming out of its co-operative roots and in June 2012 the Guild was used as an exemplar study into co-operative consortia by the Wales Co-operative Centre.
The Guild runs a craft-based education programme which offers our community a unique opportunity to learn about and take part in high quality craft workshops and community arts programmes. Our educational programme is well regarded and popular with local Schools, Colleges and Universities along with the many who take part in our regular craft workshops.
The Guild is recognised as a social enterprise coming out of its co-operative roots and in June 2012 the Guild was used as an exemplar study into co-operative consortia by the Wales Co-operative Centre.
The Guild runs a craft-based education programme which offers our community a unique opportunity to learn about and take part in high quality craft workshops and community arts programmes. Our educational programme is well regarded and popular with local Schools, Colleges and Universities along with the many who take part in our regular craft workshops.
Student Medal Project 2021
We were delighted to be hosting this exhibition of art medals designed and created by students from art colleges across the UK, including academies in Italy and Bulgaria, alongside a small selection of contemporary medals by professional makers, commissioned by the British Art Medal Society.
The annual Student Medal Project, now in its 28th year, was established to reintroduce the art of the medal to art colleges, suggesting themes for their research and design process. The exhibition includes medals selected from the Project in 2020 and 2021.
The optional theme for 2020 was Endangered Species from the Red List. Each medal has a design front and back (obverse and reverse), and the students worked from design to complete their cast bronze medals, as shown here.
The winning medals and designs for this year’s Project have recently been judged, and the suggested theme was Black Art Matters. Research on this theme included historic black art, as well as painting, sculpture, weaving, ceramics, the cinema and literature, and students investigated these areas from the beginning of the academic year. A greater understanding and appreciation of the importance and the influence of black art has led to some wonderful medals and also to designs. Because of the lockdown at colleges, the Project was widened to include a category of Design/Prototype so that as many students could participate as possible. Not surprisingly, a number of students also created work that reflected how they felt about isolation during this year. This year 74 cast medals from 14 different UK colleges have been made, as well as over 30 medal designs.
The British Art Medal Society has commissioned medals from many distinguished contemporary sculptors, glass engravers, jewellers, cartoonists and poets among many other creative practitioners. The Goldsmiths’ Centre, the Worshipful Company of Founders, the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers, Thomas Fattorini Ltd are among the institutions that support the Student Medal Project; and the British Museum has purchased particularly meritorious student medals.
As part of this project , we undertook community based projects, including with our local School, Mount Stuart Primary (photos above)
The annual Student Medal Project, now in its 28th year, was established to reintroduce the art of the medal to art colleges, suggesting themes for their research and design process. The exhibition includes medals selected from the Project in 2020 and 2021.
The optional theme for 2020 was Endangered Species from the Red List. Each medal has a design front and back (obverse and reverse), and the students worked from design to complete their cast bronze medals, as shown here.
The winning medals and designs for this year’s Project have recently been judged, and the suggested theme was Black Art Matters. Research on this theme included historic black art, as well as painting, sculpture, weaving, ceramics, the cinema and literature, and students investigated these areas from the beginning of the academic year. A greater understanding and appreciation of the importance and the influence of black art has led to some wonderful medals and also to designs. Because of the lockdown at colleges, the Project was widened to include a category of Design/Prototype so that as many students could participate as possible. Not surprisingly, a number of students also created work that reflected how they felt about isolation during this year. This year 74 cast medals from 14 different UK colleges have been made, as well as over 30 medal designs.
The British Art Medal Society has commissioned medals from many distinguished contemporary sculptors, glass engravers, jewellers, cartoonists and poets among many other creative practitioners. The Goldsmiths’ Centre, the Worshipful Company of Founders, the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers, Thomas Fattorini Ltd are among the institutions that support the Student Medal Project; and the British Museum has purchased particularly meritorious student medals.
As part of this project , we undertook community based projects, including with our local School, Mount Stuart Primary (photos above)
The Makers Guild in Wales Young Carers project 2019
Makers Guild in Wales project providing craft workshops for Young Carers.
Project made possible with the financial support of the Community Foundation in Wales.
In partnership with the YMCA Cardiff, the Makers Guild in Wales provided Young Carers living within Cardiff and surrounding Vale a programme of after school and school holiday craft workshops held within the workshop spaces at Craft in the Bay.
The craft project formed part of the YMCA's 'Time 4 Me' project aimed at providing Young Carers with opportunities to have a break from their responsibilities at home in helping to care for a sibling/parent and to have fun with other young people learning something new and interesting.
The workshops were delivered by professional makers experienced in teaching their specialist craft disciplines. A range of craft areas were covered including printmaking, felt making, jewellery design, pottery, enamelling, weaving, tie dye fabrics, willow sculpture and paper craft. Feedback from the young people, YMCA support staff and workshop tutors has all been very positive. Staff noticed improvements in the confidence and social skills of individual youngsters as they were brought together for the workshop sessions.
The project was very successful in providing opportunities for young people to learn new craft skills, gain in self confidence, feel proud of their achievements, develop their social skills and have time to just have fun with their peer group, away from the pressures of being a Young Carer at home. The team of staff from the YMCA were fantastic in their support of the project.
The unique gallery setting for their learning showed the Young Carers how the skills they were developing had been similarly applied by the guild members exhibiting and selling their craft in the gallery - a unique source of motivation, ambition and inspiration for developing individual creativity and expression.
Quotes from the young people when asked what they enjoyed:
‘everything because you got to make stuff’ ‘I liked it all a lot’
‘I got to meet new people’ ‘it was different’
‘using the wheel’ ‘clay’ ‘I liked getting messy and doing something new and learned new things’ ‘doing the pots’ ‘painting’ ‘being with my friend, making pottery, not being lonely’ ‘making my shark’
I liked painting and modelling because I was talking and having fun with my friends (Blessing) ‘I got to explore my creative side’
‘doing the enamelling’ ‘making stuff it was fun’ ‘we all had fun’
‘everything’ 'I liked that it got me out of the house’
Got to make my own necklace/rings and I have never done that before (Sonila)
Everything, I loved getting crafty (Georgie) That we learnt new things (Niamh)
Makers Guild in Wales project providing craft workshops for Young Carers.
Project made possible with the financial support of the Community Foundation in Wales.
In partnership with the YMCA Cardiff, the Makers Guild in Wales provided Young Carers living within Cardiff and surrounding Vale a programme of after school and school holiday craft workshops held within the workshop spaces at Craft in the Bay.
The craft project formed part of the YMCA's 'Time 4 Me' project aimed at providing Young Carers with opportunities to have a break from their responsibilities at home in helping to care for a sibling/parent and to have fun with other young people learning something new and interesting.
The workshops were delivered by professional makers experienced in teaching their specialist craft disciplines. A range of craft areas were covered including printmaking, felt making, jewellery design, pottery, enamelling, weaving, tie dye fabrics, willow sculpture and paper craft. Feedback from the young people, YMCA support staff and workshop tutors has all been very positive. Staff noticed improvements in the confidence and social skills of individual youngsters as they were brought together for the workshop sessions.
The project was very successful in providing opportunities for young people to learn new craft skills, gain in self confidence, feel proud of their achievements, develop their social skills and have time to just have fun with their peer group, away from the pressures of being a Young Carer at home. The team of staff from the YMCA were fantastic in their support of the project.
The unique gallery setting for their learning showed the Young Carers how the skills they were developing had been similarly applied by the guild members exhibiting and selling their craft in the gallery - a unique source of motivation, ambition and inspiration for developing individual creativity and expression.
Quotes from the young people when asked what they enjoyed:
‘everything because you got to make stuff’ ‘I liked it all a lot’
‘I got to meet new people’ ‘it was different’
‘using the wheel’ ‘clay’ ‘I liked getting messy and doing something new and learned new things’ ‘doing the pots’ ‘painting’ ‘being with my friend, making pottery, not being lonely’ ‘making my shark’
I liked painting and modelling because I was talking and having fun with my friends (Blessing) ‘I got to explore my creative side’
‘doing the enamelling’ ‘making stuff it was fun’ ‘we all had fun’
‘everything’ 'I liked that it got me out of the house’
Got to make my own necklace/rings and I have never done that before (Sonila)
Everything, I loved getting crafty (Georgie) That we learnt new things (Niamh)
Brysia Wella
During the week of the Urdd Eisteddfod in Cardiff Bay we hosted a special programme of events in partnership with Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board. Celebrating Welsh culture and language, Health & Wellbeing. the exhibition featured work by Haf Weighton and a daily programme of craft workshops, enabling young people to have fun creating artworks for a growing exhibition in our gallery during the week long event.
Special thanks to Julie Morgan AM and Maria Battle, Chair , Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board for officially opening the programme and taking part in our Creative Craft Workshops! #ArtsforHealthandWellbeing
Special thanks to Julie Morgan AM and Maria Battle, Chair , Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board for officially opening the programme and taking part in our Creative Craft Workshops! #ArtsforHealthandWellbeing
Young Carers Project 2017
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Young Carers Project 2017
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Funding our new Kilns
Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Maker Guild Wales Steve Nicholls accepts the cheque from Mark Poole of Viridor & Prosiect Gwyrdd Community Fund.
We've recently succesfully replaced our old Kilns. Our educational programme is popular with local Schools, Colleges and Universities along with the many who take part in our regular craft workshops. The kilns that we use to provide our workshops recently broke down and were beyond economic repair, leaving us without some of the most used and vital pieces of equipment required to continue our workshop programme.
We are so very grateful for the support provided by The Viridor & Prosiect Gwyrdd Community Fund and the The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation UK and all those who donated via our crowdfunding campaign. We'll keep you updated on the projects that we run using our new kiln!
(April 2017)
We are so very grateful for the support provided by The Viridor & Prosiect Gwyrdd Community Fund and the The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation UK and all those who donated via our crowdfunding campaign. We'll keep you updated on the projects that we run using our new kiln!
(April 2017)