Plants and Protest: How to Grow Your Art and Eat It!

Join Marjolaine Ryley to explore horticulture cultures

This workshop will provide you with skills in horticulture. You will learn how to grown micro-greens for year round salads, grow veg and flowers from seed and learn skills in propagating plants – exploring different methods for an endless supply of free plants. You will also learn the secret to successful composting.

MATERIAL LIST & 2 HOUR LIVE SESSION CONTENT:

  • An Overview

    This workshop will give beginners confidence and help existing gardeners enhance their skills and connection to growing. You can grow indoors and outdoors, with a garden or a in a small tub, however you grow connecting to plants can bring incredible rewards for you, your art and the planet.

    Some examples of artist-gardeners whose art is edible, sustainable, often funny and for whom growing is a form of protest and hope will also be included to inspire you on your journey.

  • Materials & Equipment

    - Small bag of peat free compost

    - Selection of pots/containers with drainage holes

    - Small trowel or cup to scoop your compost

    - Seeds to start off your veg and flower patch: seeds such as beans, kale, lettuce, tomato, marigold, nasturtiums are all good

    - Micro green seeds: packets of store-bought seeds normally used or cooking such as mustard, fenugreek, coriander, dried peas, chickpeas, sunflower are perfect to grow micro greens

    - A small healthy lavender, mint or rosemary plant to take cuttings from is ideal

    - Water

    - A chopping board

    - A small clean knife or scissors

    - Several plastic bags and elastic bands (you can use re-cycling for this)

    - Pen / Card / tape to make labels

    You may wish to cover your surface and keep a dustpan and brush handy as well!

  • Workshop Overview

    Introducing Artists of Interest

    The Art of Composting – A Demo

    Micro-greens – examples and group micro green sowing activity

    All about seeds – you will learn how to sow seeds for successful germination and healthy seedlings. We will also explore caring for and growing vegetables and flowers through their life cycles and how we can use annuals and perennials together.

    A Propagation Demo - We will learn ‘plant propagation’ skills to enable us to create new propagules (baby plants) from a variety of possible methods.

Series Feedback

  • 'These workshops have been hugely influential in the way my practice has developed'.

    Joan

  • ‘Mind blowing and heart opening workshop … dense with practical and poetic inspiration’

    Cam

  • 'Full of inspiration and magic.'

    Kathryn

  • 'Thank you so much. Two hours very well spent with plenty to think about and do.'

    Liz

  • 'Thank you all for an amazing and inspirational Session! I'm just starting a new project and so this has all been really helpful!'

    Naomi

  • 'Thank you everyone. Really inspiring and nice to feel that connection with others.'

    Jess

  • 'Thank you all so much! It's been one of the best sessions I've done in ages. x'

    Elder

Workshop
Host

Marjolaine Ryley

Marjolaine Ryley is  multi-disciplinary  artist working with photography, text, objects, plants and Eco printing.

She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally and her works is held in the collections of the V&A and Serralves Museums. She has had her work published in books and Magazines including ‘Growing up in the New Age’ Daylight 2013 and ‘Alternative Worlds: Blue Sky thinking Since 1900’, ‘Portfolio’ and ‘Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture’. Exhibitions include ‘This is What I See’ at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art Sunderland 2020 and ‘A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose’, 2022 at Hestercombe Gallery and Gardens, Somerset.

She is a Part time Lecturer in Photography at the University of Sunderland and She is Currently a PhD researcher in Fine Art at Newcastle University funded through Northern Bridge Doctoral Training Partnership. Her PhD ‘Time, Image, Archive: visualising Gardening communities through auto-ethnographic photographic practice’ explores the relationship between women, gardens and the horti-counterculture.