Harnessing the Energy of the Community

Part of the beauty of the Observer Building, the crowdfunding of it, and the specific nature of this piece of textile art, is that it's a shared entity; something that the whole neighbourhood can be part of.  In the light of this, it's only fitting that some of the donors got the chance to stitch and glue their own names to be incorporated into the final piece.

We held two open sessions during which folks gathered, created and chatted about all sorts of things including where they were born and how they had come to be in Hastings.  One thing pretty much everyone had in common was that they had chosen the town to be their home specifically because of its bohemian, creative and inclusive vibes.

As with every creative session I facilitate, I learned so much and was incredibly inspired by the way that participants responded to the rusty and vegetable dyed marks on the cloth that I provided; sometimes stitching delicately round these organic shapes in order to highlight their subtle beauty.

As I piece this big patchwork together, I am reminded how good diversity looks and feels.