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Alchemy

09 Jul, 2026

The clay bowls imprinted with leaves have all dried; it’s time to transform them into precious gold vessels.

But first, we chatted with residents at De Lucy House about just how well connected the Winfarthing Lady was, what with her garnets from Asia and her French coin necklace; we also made some connections of our own.

From memories of evacuees and sing-songs in the local pub, to tales of £10 Poms and copper laundry boilers, the participants shared stories amongst themselves, identifying several common themes and experiences.

And then, the magic happened – painting the bowls gold and next applying a bronze wash to really bring out the patterns and textures.

As one person told us, as she wiped the gold paint off her fingers and looked admiringly at her pot, “There’s always fun to be found.”

That afternoon, we shared some of those stories and messages with residents at Oak Lodge, who in turn talked about some of the connections they had with other places and people.

They were thrilled with how their bowls turned out, and were diligent in removing all the imprinted foliage, although some pieces refused to budge and had to be painted over.

Painting the bowls (and our fingers) with the thick gold paint was, as one person put it, “Messy, but fun” and much the same can be said for the fruit break in which the watermelon, strawberries and bananas disappeared in a similarly sticky-yet-enjoyable way.

Our very special thanks to Caitlin and Nye for being at both sessions to show us all how to produce such beautiful work.

A resident at De Lucy house was particularly appreciative of Nye’s company; “They were so interesting to talk with, it’s good to meet new people, isn’t it?” she said, as we were leaving. “What a shame they won’t be back next week.”

Next week will be our final session, when we will be celebrating everything we have made, learned and enjoyed together during the Coins and Crosses sessions.

Coins and Crosses: Seeking the Anglo-Saxons in Winfarthing and Waveney is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to connect local communities with our Anglo-Saxon history.

Two women position their clay bowl to demonstrate that they have picked out most of the leaves - there's a small pile in front of them on the table, along with two pairs of spectacles

Picking the leaves out of the bowl they made last week

A woman seated on a sofa with a row of balloons behind her

Taking part from the sofa

A couple seated side by side, wearing blue plastic aprons, applying gold acrylic paint to the inside of a clay bowl

Painting the bowl together

Two women wearing protective blue aprons apply gold paint to a clay bowl

Transforming their bowl

Close up of pair of hands, holding a tiny pin bowl and painting it god

Thrilled with her pin bowl

View on an upturned bowl painted gold and assorted arts materials, paints brushes etc on the pink table top

Painted, inside and out

A woman seated, wearing a floral top, blue cardigan and blue plastic apron, admiring a gold-painted bowl on the table in front of her

Deciding how much the bowl is worth now

Two women wearing blue plastic aprons look to camera, holding their painted bowl to reveal the interior

The finished article - almost

Heartfordshire. Friendship - grew the connection. Craft. Skills that can be shared. Herbalism and medicine. Also a selection of gold painted bowls and pots and a publication with an image of precious pendants and a necklace

Things we've learnt and enjoyed during Coins and Crosses

A table covered with art materials and written text Lewis France in a Hovercraft on a school trip I liked the people and different talking language

Talking about connections to other places

An open publication showing image of semi-buried gold pendant with hand drawn disc in bottom left corner with word Adam

As the edge of the gold and garnets appeared in the soil, the whole atmosphere changed

A woven basket full of white card discs on which are written and drawn images and text The Western church is different

A basket of observations and connections

Two people seated at a pink-covered table, holding up a dried clay bowl imprinted with leaves. A woman stand behind them, helping to steady the large bowl and another woman with long auburn hair is seated in the background

Very pleased with how the leaf pattern turned out

Two young women seated at a table covered in a pink cloth hold a clay bowl up for inspection. There are leaves stuck to the inside of the bowl

The clay bowl has dried since last week

Overhead of group of adults using wooden implements to pick at foliage stuck in clay bowls

Picking out the foliage

A young man holds up a clay bowl with two leaves adhered inside. There is another bowl on the table, sponges and loose foliage

Some leaves just stayed stuck

A group of people seated around a table, applying gold paint to clay bowls

Alchemy - transforming the base clay into gold vessels

A man in a black sleeveless T-shirt and a blue plastic apron smiles at camera, holding a slice of watermelon in front of his face

A watermelon smile

A pink covered table with 3 gold painted bowl plus palettes, paint and brushes. A pair are in discussion about something, the woman turning to face the man who is clearly considering his answer

The bowls are all painted gold now

A group of people around a table covered in a pink cloth. Some are seated, some standing. They are all applying gold paint to bowls

Applying a bronze wash to the gold-painted bowls

Overhead view of two people applying a bronze wash to the interior of the bowl

Making the bowls look really old

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‘I've really enjoyed watching the residents express themselves so I am able to learn new things about them; I have seen them in a new light. A fabulous way to learn about the Anglo-Saxon finds.’

‘The group has changed, it's brought us together; we've bonded.’

‘I am very proud of the tiny pot I made.’

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