I have recently completed a four-week art residency at Coventry Cathedral, where I facilitated workshops with local women survivors of domestic abuse. Together, we created new works that now form part of the growing collection of this project.
Each day brought a new encounter with a remarkable woman – an intimate one-to-one space where lived experiences were shared, witnessed and translated into powerful glass works.
It has been a profoundly heartwarming and transformative experience – connecting with women, sharing stories, and allowing glass itself to act as a material collaborator in the process of interpreting and reflecting on lived experience of surviving abuse.
“I’d had a picture of my heart as having a room full of broken glass which I’d kept tight shut. Now the room of broken glass is open – at first I just wanted to sweep it out as quickly as possible. Then I saw that it was to be made into a beautiful window. The broken glass is the past pain I haven’t wanted to face, acknowledge, feel.” – Margaret, participant.
Participant making one of the artworks of the collection (Coventry Cathedral, 2026)
The Cathedral as Collaborator
In the Cathedral’s vestry and lower chambers – spaces of preparation and transformation – beneath the watchful gaze of its former Deans, we smashed glass. From fragments, we created powerful and striking artworks.
The cracks were not hidden; they were honoured. They became visible testimonies of resilience, survival and strength. The work itself offers a sense of reverence, making its creation within the Cathedral both fitting and deeply meaningful.
The temporary studio in the Provost Vestry
A Feast of Colour
We are now finalising the fourth exhibition of From the Fragment to the Whole, which will soon open to the public in the beautiful Chapel of Industry – now renamed the Chapel of Christ the Servant – within Coventry Cathedral.
I cannot wait to see the stunning glasswork installed in the round chapel, lit from top to bottom and all around by natural daylight. Surrounded by clear glass from floor to soaring ceiling, the setting will allow the works to glow in their full intensity.
The exciting range of rich colours – pinks and violets, reds and orange hues, warm and bright tones – adds a vibrant and luminous gradient to the collection. It will be a true feast for the eyes.
I am deeply grateful to Bullseye Glass Co. for their generous sponsorship, providing glass for this project and enabling new colours to become part of the collection. Their support has expanded the expressive range of the work, allowing these powerful stories to be carried in ever richer tones.
Exhibition space in the Cathedral
Follow-up Workshops
We are now actively raising funds to offer a series of follow-up group workshops for the participants of this project. These sessions provide an opportunity to consolidate and transform difficult experiences into creative and inspiring outcomes, balancing challenging emotions with humour and the sense of freedom that comes from working with materials.
With your support, we can offer participants – often mothers caring for the next generation – an invaluable space to reflect, feel supported, and continue reshaping the narrative of their experiences in a positive and empowering way.
“The follow-up workshops helped me reflect on my journey and find moments of humour and freedom in creating with materials. It was incredibly liberating.” – T., participant.
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Making a sun catcher with fragments of coloured glass
Reflection and Voice
There is something deeply poetic about undertaking this work of reparation in a place founded on resilience, reconciliation and repair. Coventry Cathedral, born from the ashes of destruction, stands as a symbol of peace and renewal.
To create spaces for reflection, creative expression and voice within its walls feels profoundly aligned with the spirit of this project.
Ruins of the old Coventry Cathedral
A Collective Conversation
I am proud to dedicate my practice to offering time and space for women where they are fully believed and heard. Through collaboration with institutions willing to hold and share this work, these voices can resonate far beyond the workshop room – contributing to a collective conversation about domestic abuse, about creating safe spaces for those who need them, and giving a voice to those who have been silenced.
It is my hope and belief that this work can help shift the narrative around domestic abuse – recognising that survivors need their suffering to be acknowledged within society, and that society itself must take greater responsibility for how little support is often offered to those who have experienced it. Survivors should have their voices heard, their experiences visible and their knowledge about the issue acknowledged, included and centralised. Laws about domestic abuse should be written in consultation with those who have been at the receiving hand of it, with little to no support from society.
