Woodcraft for Wellbeing

ExhibitionRiverside MillRiverside Gallery

1 Jan

Written By Laura Wasley

Exploring the connection between craft, nature, and healing with Alex Finberg & Woodcrafters C.I.C.

Image taken at a Woodcraft for Wellbeing workshop. Credit: Alex Finberg.

This exhibition invites you to see through the eyes of the carver — to step inside the rhythm, presence, and patience it takes to shape a spoon, pot, or bowl from green wood.

Each piece bears the marks of its making: not just the trace of tools, but of thought, emotion, and care. At the heart of Woodcraft for Wellbeing is the mindful act of making: a slow, meditative practice that nurtures healing, focus, and connection.

Through hand-carved vessels — spoons, bowls, shrink pots, and cups — we explore how woodcraft becomes more than just craft. It becomes a form of listening, of remembering our place in nature, and of healing.

Woodcraft for Wellbeing is both a practice and a programme. It brings people together to connect through carving — supporting mental health, resilience, and creativity in communities across the South West. This exhibition, supported by Arts Council England, showcases finished pieces alongside insights into the carver’s world — the meditative rhythm of making, the mindset it invites, and the therapeutic power of working with your hands.

12 July – 10 August 2025

Riverside Gallery

Events

Friday 18 July, 10.30am - 2.30pm: Spoon Carving workshop with Alex Finberg

About Woodcraft for Wellbeing

Woodcraft for Wellbeing is an immersive nature based practice using woodcraft to encourage mindfulness, reduce anxiety and foster positive mental health & wellbeing. Through meditative carving techniques we help people develop skills, build confidence, reduce stress and deepen relationships with the natural world and their community.

The sessions were previously commissioned by the NHS to provide mental health support to vulnerable and marginalised people. Woodcraft for Wellbeing is now a social prescribing project run by Woodcrafters, a community interest company on a mission to bring the therapeutic benefits of natural crafts to those who need it most.

Our sessions have delivered outstanding mental health outcomes for a range of marginalised groups, children, adults, and families — particularly those facing anxiety, trauma, neurodiversity, or social isolation.

“I enjoyed the concentration, a sort of meditative state - it felt so therapeutic. Trying and learning something new whilst being in a social environment where there’s no need to talk or anything, just being there”.

🌿94% of participants report improved wellbeing 🌿

🍂1 in 3 people are referred through social prescribing pathways 🍂

🍃100% of participants would recommend our sessions to a friend 🍃

🍁96% of participants reported a reduction in stress during & after the sessions🍁

Each session is designed with care — grounded in mindfulness and shared experience. We begin in circle, carve with intention, and close with reflection. There’s no pressure on the outcome or to perform. Just space to be, to make, to reconnect. This is woodcraft for wellbeing in practice: slow, sensory, with a few simple principles which create a myriad of therapeutic benefits.

“Woodcraft for Wellbeing is an extraordinary initiative that offers participants a truly unique opportunity to engage in the mindful practice of spooncarving and woodcraft. As a clinical psychologist, I have witnessed firsthand the profound benefits of nature-based interventions, but this program stands out for its ability to combine the restorative power of mindfulness, creativity, and community in a serene, natural setting. “

Dr Alexandra Lagaisse CPsychol DClinPsc MSc BSc Hons

Find out more about Woodcraft for Wellbeing at woodcrafters.uk

Inside the gallery

Coming soon…

About Alex

Alex Finberg | Devon

Alex Finberg is a woodcarver, author, and workshop leader based in South Devon. He began carving over a decade ago while working in mental health services, using craft as a way to support recovery, resilience, and connection. His work draws on green woodworking traditions to create hand-carved spoons, bowls, and vessels that are both beautiful and purposeful.

Alex is the founder of Woodcrafters CIC, a social enterprise that delivers therapeutic carving sessions for adults and young people. His book Spoon Carving: From Log to Spoon shares his process and passion for the wellbeing benefits of woodcraft

Through teaching, writing, and making, Alex continues to explore how craft can deepen our relationship with nature — and offer us a myriad restorative benefits.

alexfinberg.co.uk

@alex.finberg