Chatting with Pontypridd- based ceramicist Rosalyn Chicken about working alongside the community gardening group at Ynysangahard War Memorial Park ('Ponty Park') Community Garden

...The time and space at 10-2 on a Wednesday is not just about the gardening, it's a space to come together and reduce loneliness. Many people are lonely as they don't get out much, other people who attend have additional needs. It is a 'place to belong'. The group is so welcoming, and you see the same faces week on week. The group has been going for 7 years and the ratio of males and females has become more even now! They pride themselves on being inclusive and providing access for all...

We spoke about crafting having particular associations with being a 'feminine pursuit' and so encouraging activities such as digging/building/painting benches for those who identify as male in the group...this is great news as I will need help with construction if I begin to build a bench. Benches are a great shout says Ros as many like to sit and chat after doing a bit of gardening.

Considering accessibility with the creative access resource, there are a few members who have physical needs (although doesn't impact their gardening) and some people who are autistic and have certain sensory and social needs. There are raised beds and wheelchair access.

This season the group will be planting seeds, looking at new life and new beginnings.

We spoke ceramics and clay and how it is a very accessible medium, as there is no preconceived idea about who should be doing it...feeling your way around, touching and manipulating working directly with the hands, much like gardening. We spoke about looking at exploring clay gathered from the earth around Ponty/wild clay...to literally and metaphorically play and feel the land around us... which brought on to the discussion of home, belonging, Hiraeth...I spoke about worries being from London...Ros reassured me that she too was from London but has been in Ponty 20 years and it very much feels like home...interesting for my explorations...in addition, she spoke about a man from Manchester in the group who lives in Ponty but whose heart very much still stays in Manchester...this provoked questions: 'what makes somewhere home?'/'what makes us connect with a place?'/'Is it time, where we feel our soul, is it primal?'. Ros spoke about students and displacement. She also reminded me the importance of talking to a Welsh speaking person about 'Hiraeth' as it helps an English person explore the way different people take on a word without understanding where it came from...the language has changed over the years...and interpretations are unique to each person.

The conversation was so thought-provoking and really does tie in beautifully to my passions, interests and initial ideas... I can't wait to be further inspired by the people and get outside!