Showcasing heritage crafts through a playful use of materials and form can inspire an interest in traditional practices, proving that they aren’t just fossils from the past, but sparks for the future to ignite a renewed appreciation. I set out to encourage and facilitate playful encounters with tradition as a tool for learning about endangered crafts, in the same way children learn through play. Play encourages inquisitiveness, curiosity, and a means for exploring our surroundings, and forgetting how to do this as an adult is a great loss.

I chose to explore Cob, Wattle and Daub, Brick making, and Ladder making as they are all featured on the Heritage Craft Associations ‘red list of endangered crafts’. All have a common thread of drawing on local materials, connecting people and place. I made these pieces with little knowledge of each craft before setting out, learning about the traditional practices, materials, and methods of making as I explored each one. This project was not only about facilitating peoples learning of endangered crafts through play, but expanding my own knowledge on an area of craft I feel passionate about. I sourced the materials myself, becoming deeply involved in the hand processing and journey they went on from digging up the clay or coppicing the wood to a final product.

Through this project, I not only learnt about traditional making skills and heritage crafts but that these can be explored in a playful, engaging manner as a way of drawing people in to find out more. Maybe this can be used as a way of ensuring the survival of these endangered crafts in the future, remembering that play isn’t just for children but for everyone.