Why Does Making Matter? Eye Hand Heart at SDW 2015
More Than Objects
Eye Hand Heart asked a question that craft exhibitions often avoid: why does making matter? Not in economic terms or heritage terms, but in human terms. The exhibition, held during Sheffield Design Week 2015, explored the emotional and psychological dimensions of craft — the connection between maker and material, between creator and user, between hand and heart.
The show was smaller than some of the festival’s headline events, occupying a single room with work from six makers. But what it lacked in scale it compensated for in focus. Each exhibitor had been asked to present not just finished work but evidence of the relationship that produced it — sketchbooks, material samples, written reflections on process.
Process Made Visible
I was drawn to a weaver’s contribution, which included a journal documenting the emotional arc of a six-month project. Entries ranged from early excitement to mid-project doubt to the quiet satisfaction of completion. Displayed alongside the finished textile, the journal transformed the viewing experience — the cloth was no longer simply beautiful but legibly human.
A ceramicist’s display took a different approach, showing a sequence of twenty bowls that documented their evolving relationship with a particular clay body. Early pieces showed the struggle for control; later ones demonstrated a fluency that only repetition brings. The sequence was honest about the time and failure that competence requires.
Craft and Wellbeing
Eye Hand Heart anticipated conversations about craft and mental health that have become more prominent in recent years. Several of the exhibitors spoke, in their written statements, about making as a form of processing — a way of being present that quiets the noise of daily life.
The exhibition complemented the Craftworks programme and the lunchtime talks that explored similar themes. Together, they made a case for craft not merely as production but as a purposeful practice with genuine human value. The city’s maker community continues to embody this principle.
