"I’ve definitely grown in confidence since starting, being around new people has helped a lot with my social anxiety."

"I can’t praise it enough. It’s so important for people to express themselves, learn about themselves, be part of something, and build confidence. It’s a trusted, safe environment. I can just be me. I’m away from stress. I just want to say thank you. It means a lot. It’s important to me and my mental health."

"I’m very aware of my environment, and because of my ADHD it can be an overload. I think it’s a really nice environment and the size of the class works well. Just getting here is a major achievement. This is about the only place I’ve been in the last 6 weeks. you can feel alone even in a crowd. But here I don’t feel alone."

"It’s a lifeline honestly, it’s made such a difference. I’m a big believer in therapy and arts and crafts. It’s been brilliant."

"I think Artisanctuary has given me a different outlook on emotions and how to express them and more confidence in art and more confidence in general."

"It’s a journey of rediscovering yourself having confidence in your own ability that makes a difference with the self-worth stuff. it’s been nice to learn a new skill like realising I can create something like my teapot. Now I’m discovering that I’m quite happy with me and I’m now open to different things. My confidence has come back after I lost my career and partner."

"I’ve also learned to ‘let go’ a bit, to not worry about things being perfect all the time and being happy with what I’ve done regardless of any imperfections."

"Artisanctuary has enabled me to live more freely, worry less and has given me a safe place to enjoy myself."

"I really enjoyed exploring all the different clay types the tutor brought in. This is when I learned about grog and its role in building larger pieces. I’d also always wanted to explore porcelain and I actually like it even more now. I have plans to buy my own and explore what else is possible."

"Artisanctuary has been great at making me believe I can be far more creative than I previously thought and that I want to continue to do that and learn more."

"I enjoyed being offered the chance to try new techniques as the weeks went on. I appreciated being allowed to develop my own project alongside learning these techniques too."

"Clay allows us to create our thoughts into solid objects that in some way speaks to the world about our deepest selves, a place where language has no hold. To have expressed ourselves from such a place brings a profound sense of satisfaction and catharsis and in knowing we now have a way to express without language is empowering beyond measure."