About The Community Shawl Project
The Community Shawl is my response to The Red Dress Embroidery Project (created by Kirsty MacLeod), for which I was very fortunate to have been able to arrange exhibitions and presentations twice in Wales, the most recent in Abergavenny in October 2022.
Previously the Dress had its first visit to Wales when I curated its exhibition at the Bleddfa Centre in the winter of 2021.
The basis of many of my projects, and my art practice, is journeying, both of myself and others, and the connected stories - one of the many reasons why the Red Dress Project fascinates me, as an amazing example of connecting with women and communities as a global project .
The Community Shawl Project began with my invitation to the public to join us in creating a fabric square, in any medium, for the creation of the Community Shawl; each square to have an element of red. Ginevra Croft, owner of The Wool Croft, generously offered to help me with collecting the squares, with donations of materials, and asking her craft club to join in.
I was delighted and grateful to receive over 120 squares, including donations from the residents of Penpergym Care Home; each one, intricate and beautiful, tells its own story and is a little symbol of love and connection. They range from knitted to embroidered, lace to felted.
My aim is for everyone’s work to unite our communities, and for the completed Shawl to then be taken to exhibitions and events, celebrating our traditions of tales, community, and friendship.
The Shawl also symbolises being held in a safe space by your community, and can be viewed, or worn, in womens’ groups too.
The warmth and comfort offered by the traditions of the Welsh shawls, given to those who need it, being passed through generations and communities, is exactly what the exquisite and generous donated squares demonstrate.
The next phase was to find the right materials to sew the squares onto, and a local seamstress.
My mother, out of the blue, made an amazing suggestion; to use my grandmother’s nurse’s cape, from her time working as a Sister at many hospitals, including Pen Y Fal in Abergavenny, retiring in 1978. The institution was self-sustaining, with its own farm, and huge sewing room, and we know that Doreen Rice, who worked there, made my grandmother’s cape.
Marjorie’s mother, Elizabeth Jones, worked closely with Nye Bevan during the establishment of the NHS; I know my Nana and my greatgrandmother would both appreciate what the cape has come to symbolise through its transformation into the Community Shawl.
The cape has added another layer of connection and provenance, and means so much to me.
I set up a fundraiser to pay Cathie Tee to sew the fabric squares. Cathie and I connected immediately, and she has very intuitively sewn on each piece (except the one I created), keeping the structure of the cape by keeping its seams and buttons in view, and thus adding her love and story to the Shawl.
I have been researching another stage of the Project; to record orally the stories of those who donated squares, funds, time to its creation, and of anyone with memories of Pen y Fal hospital, or of their response to the Shawl, such as the poem by Julie Long, one of the contributors, and whose square sits atop the spine on the rear side.
This year (2025) I have been approached by Rhona Richards,whose main work is in community theatre; Rhona has connected with the Shawl too, and has offered to conduct conversations and create the oral side of this Project.
Each step of the way, everything has flowed with synchronicity and generosity, for which I am very humbled and grateful.
So now, ‘she’ is out in the world, stopping at exhibitions, talks and events... I look forward to seeing you at a futre event!
I am collecting letters of support to take her to the Senedd; if you would like to help with this, I would love to hear from you.
With very many thanks to everyone who has supported me and the Shawl.
You can send me an email by filling in the contact me button below.