The project commissioned Dr. Jane Bailey to develop a series of five one-day workshops exploring the horticultural heritage of Trengwainton garden through mixed-media, multisensory, creative works.

There were two autumn sessions in September 2015 working in the shelter of one of the garden's polytunnels.  These workshops engaged with the materiality and connections of the garden environment through multisensory processes - listening, looking, walking, talking, collecting, tasting, arranging, recording.

Inspired by the history of Trengwainton and developments of the mid-1800’s, the workshops used process informed by earlier explorers and inventors to explore the gardens. The group drew on the early plant hunters who travelled the world and brought back 'exotic' plants - condensing this into collecting and exploring within a 5''x5'' framework.  

They also experimented with using juice from leftover spinach and beetroot plants from Trengwainton's community garden to create anthotypes. Anthotypes use sunlight and plant juice to create a simple sort of photograph - a process developed by John Herschel in the mid-1800's.

The objects, words, sounds and images from the workshops will be brought together with a mid-1800's Tithe map of Trengwainton in a series of exhibitions.

Get in touch if you would like to attend Spring/Summer 2016 workshops. 

Email barbara@awen.org.uk