Tracing the seed, remembering the circle: A paint-making & drawing workshop

Join us for a hands-on workshop at Bridgehouse Gardens where we will explore the wonder of seeds through botanical dye-making, drawing, conversation and skill-sharing for all ages!

Artist Chengwei Xia will share natural dye tips for low-cost DIY pigment making, using seeds foraged from the community garden. Using plant dyes, artmaking is grounded in practices of circularity and connection. Chengwei will then guide us in observing and drawing the seeds using the homemade inks.

Together, we will discuss the importance of seeds for food security and as containers for generational knowledge, teaching us about belonging, ancestry, and identity on a small yet profound scale. We will respond to the gardens as a local site of DIY gardening and community practices.

The title is inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’, who encourages an understanding of plants as earth's gifts. As grateful receivers, we enter into a reciprocal and stewarding relationship of care. In this workshop, we offer a gesture of care through attentive and communal observation.

There will be homemade cakes and drinks to enjoy.

This event is organised by soft shock, a curatorial collective interested in facilitating spaces for gathering, knowledge sharing and mindful encounters. This workshop is offered on a pay-what-you-can basis so that financial circumstances do not prevent anyone joining. Please consider offering a donation to cover material costs and supporting the garden if you are able to.

Bridgehouse Gardens is a community growing project and local event space, focused on greening, cultural and community infrastructure, food growing, education and recreation to explore alternative approaches to community cohesion and just futures. 

Please note: some photographs will be taken during the workshop for documentation purposes, and consent from participants will be asked at the beginning of the session. Children attending the workshop will not be included in the documentation.

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