Join Carmen Marcus and Alice Grey for an immersive workshop that invites women to explore myth, poetry and art.

Join novelist and spokenword poet Carmen Marcus and Artist/teacher Alice Grey of Selkie Arts for a special creative workshop inspired by the Selkie story, the mysterious sealwomen of northern folklore who shed their skins to walk among humans.

Taking place alongside the Spirits in the wild, FokloreTales from North Yorkshire, in the Inspired by…Gallery at Danby Moorlands Centre, this immersive workshop invites women to explore myth, poetry and art making as pathways back to creativity.

Across four hours, participants will explore the Selkie legend and other powerful myths, drawing inspiration from writers such as Clarissa Pinkola Estés and Sharon Blackie, alongside Marcus’s own practice of blending folklore with contemporary storytelling.

Through guided writing exercises and gentle art techniques, participants will create their own symbolic Selkie Skin — a piece of visual poetry made from fabric, words, colour and texture.The workshop also draws inspiration from the landscapes that surround us. The moor and the coast have long shaped northern stories and imaginations. Participants will reflect on how land, weather and sea can enter our creative work and how myths want to be retold and reshaped shape new stories.

This workshop is designed for women who want to reconnect with their creative selves in a supportive and welcoming environment. Whether they write regularly or are returning to creativity after a long time away, the day offers space to experiment, reflect and create. Participants will leave with a handmade Selkie Skin and new ideas for how storytelling, poetry and visual art can weave together.

About the facilitators

Carmen Marcus is a novelist and spokenword poet. She is the author of How Saints Die, a magical shanty of a novel about a wolfmother, a lost child and her fisherman father.Carmen’s work blends folklore, myth and contemporary storytelling to explore belonging, landscape and the imaginative power of place.

She is the winner of the Faber& Faber New Play Award and has performed spokenword poetry across the UK. Her creative practice explores how mythological structures can be reworked to create new stories rooted in lived experience, landscape and memory.

Alice Grey, of Selkie Arts is a sculptural ceramic Artist. She explores Myth and folklore to create sculptures that explore our relationship with landscape, the ocean and story.

Travel

The Danby Centre will be provide a minibus to Danby, the pick up will be arranged from Middlesbrough Train Station. You will be asked if you wish to reserve a free seat when booking your ticket. Please note, spaces for the minibus are limited.

Description supplied by the event organiser.