A Free Weekend of Creative Walkshops in the Wye Valley 6th & 7th April
An exploration of how and why we connect with ourselves, each other and the earth.
This playful collaboration between people and land is open to anyone over the age of 18 who is interested in engaging with the environment in creative ways, regardless of background or experience.
Practical Info:
Both days are interconnected and we recommend that to gain the best experience you attend the whole weekend.
The event is free to attend but booking is required.
Some refreshments will be provided at the start of each day, but you will be required to bring your own packed lunch and water.
During this day you will be given a sketchbook to record the experience in multiple ways.
The weekend will involve being outside and moving for a large portion of the weekend so please dress for the weather.
Please contact us if you have access needs that need additional support in order for you to attend.
Itinerary:
Saturday 6th April: 10am-8pm
Most of this day will be outside and a large proportion of the day will be walking.
At the start of the day we will meet at 10am St Saviour’s Church in Redbrook where we will start our journey learning about the wonders of soil through Nicola Goff’s co-created ‘earthen cloth’ printed using earth pigments.
From here we will set off walking along the river and into the woods with discussion and prompts along the way. On entering the woods we will embark on a walkshop led by Sian Jones in which we will use theatre techniques and games to connect with our bodies, each other and the forest around us. We will explore, play and learn from natural wisdom.
We will break for lunch and then continue our journey in a walkshop led by Ella Davies in which we will connect with the earth through gathering local clays and working in response to the material to sculpt a series of forest creatures. We will learn to respond intuitively with clay through listening, collaborating and walking through the stunning Wye Valley, AONB. Our forest spirits will be given as offerings to the waterfalls of Redbrook, where the clay will return to the
earth.
We will end this walkshop looping back down into the village and we will end the day with a fire, food and reflection starting at approximately 6.30pm.
We aim for the day to be finished around 8pm.
Sunday 7th April: 10.30am-2.30pm
We will meet at 10.30am at St Saviour’s Church in Redbrook and from here take a short walk to a space where we will spend the morning connecting with the earth through spoken word and language on a walkshop that will guide us in creating both individual and collective poems for and from the earth. Parts of these poems will be incorporated into the earthen cloth at a later date.
There will also be a period of reflection and sharing as part of this day and we will be using the sketchbooks from the previous day as part of this.
We aim to finish this day at 2.30pm.
From here everyone is welcome to join us at a local pub for a purely social (non compulsory) late lunch and/or drink.
Booking: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/wye-valley-river-festival-cic/the-collective-wye/2024-04-06/10:00/t-eavjodz
Alt Image Text: Image is a poster with information that is already included in the body of text given but also includes hand drawn images of local plants.
Image Credit: wyevalleyriverfest.com
Photo of river by Jack Anstey on Unsplash