As part of her commission, Storylines: Remembering Roads to Healing, artist Gemma Garwood will be delivering and hosting a series of workshops and events for communities in Tendring. She will be using folk lore, practice, art and knowledge as a tool to build connections, honour traditions and imagine healing futures for Tendring folk from working class and Pavee/Irish traveller/Romani backgrounds.

Seasonal Storytelling Zine Workshop

Wed 21 Jan 3-5pm at The Nose, Walton on the Naze
Wed 4 Feb 2-4pm at Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre

Join Gemma Garwood from the East Anglian Folklore Centre for this free, drop-in Zine Making workshop. With gentle guidance and some carefully curated prompts from local folklore and rural/hedgerow knowledge we will take the opportunity to gather together our own stories and recollections. Using found and recycled materials we’ll create our own beautiful zines to celebrate the stories we want to tell and the seasonal knowledge we want to share.

Suitable for all ages. All welcome. Free, drop in (no booking required)

Strawcraft Workshop

Sat 14 Feb 11am-1pm at The Nose, Walton on the Naze
Sat 21 Feb 11am-1pm at Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre

Delivered by Lucy Hook-Child (@corndollyfolklore)

Join us as we learn how to make a classic Countryman’s Favour to give to our sweethearts, or keep close to our own hearts! We will provide an opportunity to have a go at a classic working-class heritage craft and reflect on the folklore behind these customs and the state of our seasonal relationships with the land, past and present.

Free. All Welcome. Working Class and Pavee/Irish traveller/Romani participants especially encouraged.

Workshop: Hedgerow Healing & Home Remedies

Sat 28 Feb 11am-1pm at at The Nose, Walton on the Naze
Sat 7 March 11am-1pm at Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre

Delivered by Charlie Rose, Earth & Bones

Join us for a workshop exploring the rich traditions of hedgerow healing and home remedies that have been passed down through Romani and working-class communities. We will dip our toes into the practical and nurturing ways these communities used plants for food, medicine and wellbeing.

You’ll learn about common hedgerow plants, their healing properties and some folklore surrounding them. Such as Elderflower for headaches and Hawthorn for heart health. We’ll also discuss how these remedies were shared and adapted within communities through word-of-mouth and lived experience. You’ll get to create your own herbal blends to take home. One for a soothing tea and another for a relaxing bath or foot soak. You’ll have the chance to connect with others through a Remedy Exchange, where you can be part of the tradition of passing down remedies through generations.

This workshop is an opportunity to reconnect with nature, explore the healing plants around us and appreciate the wisdom that has been shared across communities for centuries.

• Venue: The Nose, 28 Newgate Street, Walton on the Naze, Essex Co14 8AL
• Website: https://thenose.org/

• Venue: Harwich Arts Centre, Main Road , Harwich, United Kingdom, CO12 4AJ
• On Facebook: www.facebook.com/HarwichArtsandHeritageCentre