Darn it - Mending Matters is a creative, empowering programme initiated by Linda Fahy, Tudor Artisan Hub to ignite embracing sustainable living through the Arts in the Community, by adopting creative approaches to the Art of Repair, Repurpose, Renew, striving to Reduce what goes into our landfill. The programme spanned a 13.5 week period from inception to completion. Working with Visual Artists, Menders, Makers, Writers, Performing artists and members of the Community – all aged 50+, we built a suite of creative events incorporating visible mending, writing, music, drama and crafting - held at the Seán Healy Memorial Library, Carrick on Suir, from May 8-19th, 2023.
Suite of events included:
A ‘Mending Matters’ exhibition which showcased over 100 pieces contributed by over 20 makers demonstrating various visible mending techniques learnt over the course of the programme.
Monday May 8 – 2-4pm 'Much is in the Little' with Margaret O'Brien. A writing workshop where participants discovered how small, common objects can be repurposed as portals to brief but compelling pieces of original writing.
Wednesday May 10 - 7pm 'Kintsugi' - Play Reading performed by writers Patricia Cantwell and John Corcoran, live music accompaniment by John Corcoran and Kieron Judge.
Thursday May 11 – 2-4pm 'Making Tee Shirt Yarn' with Rikey Howe. Learn how to make yarn for knitting/crochet by repurposing an old Cotton T-shirt. Learn how to turn that Tee-Yarn into something new.
Monday May 15 – 2-4pm Pop up Visible Mending Demo with Makers showcasing the various mending styles used in the exhibition.
Wednesday May 17 - 6.30-8pm Pop up Visible Mending Demo with all the Makers/Community involved in the project celebrating the programme.
Thursday May 18 – 2-4pm 'Decorative Mending' with Rikey Howe. Participants learnt how to mend a piece of fabric using decorative darning techniques. Instead of seeing clothes as disposable, visible mending values sustainability and suggests a different way of relating to our clothes.
We held 2 weekly Mending Matters Makers gatherings in the Library during the months of March and April – Mondays 2-4pm, Wednesdays 6-8pm, learning, sharing visible mending skills, repairing, upstyling clothing, shoes, accessories and other household items in preparation for the showcase exhibition. The showcase exhibition included over 100 pieces – contributed by 20 makers ( visual artists, menders, writers, actors, general public) and the ICA group, items on display included dresses, skirts, jumpers, shirts, jackets, tops, jeans, shoes, lampshades, chairs, cushions, bags, purse, hats, aprons, socks, gloves, cuffs, costume bags, framed jewellery, recycled metal ornaments, dog beds, polymer clay ornaments, pin cushions, quilt, kintsugi plate, vintage Fashion Magazines and patterns, baskets, candles, upcycled glassware, wall and door hanging artwork, vintage knitting needles, mending fabrics – free to take, swap, mending tools and a library of Visible Mending and upcycling books.
We also held 3 decorative darning workshops with professional mender Rikey Howe in April, we had 10 Participants – each participant mended a piece of clothing that was represented in the Mending Matters showcase exhibition.
The local ICA group also contributed to the showcase exhibition.
The programme included a recording photographer - Noreen Duggan Photography who captured various stages of the project on film.
A slideshow or photos and stories was compiled by Linda and formed part of the exhibition.
Here is the Slideshow, created by Linda capturing the complete programme.
