Weaving Worlds Together

Often the most valuable work is the hardest capture, how do you record sensitive conversations whilst maintaining anonymity and confidentiality? I’ve been working alongside the Weaving Worlds Together team, recording and illustrating feedback from all involved, whilst they developed their project.

‘’The focus of the Weaving Worlds Together project is the preservation of traditional Irish crafts on the island of Ireland working through 7 Family Resource Centres and Healthy Living Centres in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The creative activities that the social prescribing clients will take part in will be based on traditional Irish craft work including Basket Weaving/Willow Weaving, Ceramics, Textiles - wool felting, and Woodworking. This will highlight the history and culture of traditional Irish crafts and how they played a significant role in bringing communities together.’’

In 2025, the project culminated in Tralee, and brought together people from all over the Island of Ireland to spend a day crafting and having the craic. My task, to speak with individuals about what the craft workshops meant to them, and to illustrate their responses.

For many the workshops were an opportunity to socialise and meet new people, a tonic for rural isolation. For others, it was a welcome distraction from grief and other tough feelings. Many spoke about feeling lonely and how the workshops brightened up their week.

Each of these precious insights was shared in the confidence that they would be recorded using illustration. By using Visual Note-taking, even the most shy of people shared their thoughts and feelings freely, finding safety in the knowledge that their words would remain confidential and anonymous.

Visual Note-taking also honoured and celebrated their journeys that brought people into the room. Pride was the overarching theme of each conversation. People were proud of the crafts they had made and proud of themselves for over-coming challenges, and saying ‘’Yes I can’’ and ‘’Yes I will’’. Live Illustration captured these moments of joy and celebrated them too!

If you need to create a record of important conversations anonymously and with sensitivity, Visual Note-taking is the perfect solution. Get in touch here