From scrap to strength: sculptor’s vision for inclusive art workshops in Maidenhead

A sculptor based in Knowl Hill is hoping to set up an inclusive metal sculpture workshop space in Maidenhead which will support people with mental health challenges and disabilities.

Vonnie Morris makes elaborate creations out of scrap metal.

She has carefully curated an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of scrap from a network of trusted car garages, bike repair shops and other businesses like Collard Group Ltd and Grundon Waste Management.

Putting her mind to how to use this to help others, Vonnie has donated metal sculptures to Thames Valley Air Ambulance charity auctions to raise funds for its lifesaving work.

Though it is very early days for the workshops, the plan is to offer metalworking sessions to people of all backgrounds, including those facing barriers due to mental health challenges, disability, or limited access to the arts.

“It’s my vision to include people who don’t necessarily have a creative streak to try something and feel like they’re in a community,” said Vonnie.

This vision began in lockdown when Vonnie was out of work and found herself ‘free-falling’.

That, alongside seeing loved ones struggling with their mental health, was a catalyst to wanting to help others however she could.

“I find I’m drawn to helping – it’s something I’ve grown into,” she said. “When you’ve got a [young] family, you’re just spinning plates – it’s only when you’re standing still that you become aware.”

Vonnie already knows the power of a craft for boosting people up.

“I have a nephew on the spectrum and he was really struggling to find a place in the world,” she said. “But he’s got a mentor now – a tree surgeon took him under his wing – and now he’s flying.”

^{One of Vonnie's sculptures}

Vonnie hopes that her workshops will help stop people with struggles from ‘falling through the holes’.

Her aim is to hold some regular workshops full price, and offer others targeted to those in need at a discount.

The ambition is will to make sure people feel ‘supported and seen’, and coaches will align with Vonnie’s values of seeing the worth in all art and never putting anyone down.

There will be ‘hoops to jump through’ to get the workshops going – there are health and safety considerations for the equipment, which includes welding and cutting machines.

As such, each workshop will be small – only about four or five people – with a high ratio of coaches to customers.

Asked why she was drawn to scrap metal as a medium, Vonnie said: “People throw things away, but there’s beauty in everything. I try to give it another life.”

She recalls being ‘transfixed’ by the work of other sculptors and said it was like she ‘stepped through a door’.

“Once you’ve got a passion, it takes on its own life,” she said.

Vonnie describes scrap metal sculpting as like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, learning to see the potential of everyday objects like an ironing board.

“It gives me so much joy when I see people looking at my art – the wonder and curiosity it gives them,” she said. “It’s all about joy.”

See more at www.instagram.com/monumetalart/?hl=en  @monumetalart