Exploring our indigenous relationship with place-based water myths, folklore, and story through natural dyes, ink-making, and printmaking.

It's at Samhain our ancestors are close, when myth and legends visit beyond the veil, up through our waterways. The Boyne Valley and the River Boyne form the ancient spiritual heart of Ireland, deeply tied to the goddess Bíonn | Boann, who is said to have created the sacred river from the magical Well of Segais. The goddess Bóinn's name derives from Bó meaning cow. Our ancestors named the Milky Way 'Bealach na Bó Finne' (The Way of the White Cow) as a heavenly reflection of the, also named, River Boand.

Scientists today, in complex Supernova theories, believe we are all made of stardust. This means all the material we know of, even you and I, was once part of a star. Furthermore, all the water on earth is in a closed cycle going back billions of years, so the water we see today is the water of our ancestors.

Angelina of Blueway Art Studio invites you to enthusiastically engage in a collective creative project, where, over 4 workshops, we explore and share our indigenous relationships with place-based water myths, folklore, and story through natural dyes, ink-making, and printmaking.

The fabrics and artwork we create will weave threads of Bóinn, our ancestors, old and new stories into the Púca procession and Samhain Ancestral Fire Event.

These workshops are aimed towards creatives, artists and makers local to the Púca Festival and are kindly supported by Fáilte Ireland's Ancient East and the Púca Festival team. Whatever your skill level or experience, you are welcome to join us.

Part 1 - Reciprocal Foraging Walk:

Saturday 17th October - 11am to 3pm @ Trim Castle Entrance, French's Lane.

(Please dress appropriately for the weather & bring a packed lunch if needed)

We begin by gathering Bóinn’s gifts for botanical dyes, ink-making, and a brush for An Cailleach. We share stories about the important role of Celtic knowledge in better understanding cultures, climate change, and future ancestor concepts.

Since water is the medium for our dyes and ink, we discuss its role as the "Lifeblood,” and how we are all connected by water and how water is connected everywhere.

As David Attenborough stated recently on his 100th birthday, “If we save the sea, we save our world”.

Our rivers carry the memories of stories we lost. As our ancestors did, we will listen for the mood of the River Bóinn through sensory mapping and recognise the more-than-human world.

Part 2: Processing and preparing pigments -

Sunday 18th October - 2pm to 5pm @ LMETB Athboy

Our second workshop takes place indoors at LMETB Athboy, where we learn how to process our foraged plants in preparation for making natural pigments.

Part 3 & 4 - Ink and Fabric Block Printing

Saturday 24th October - 11am to 3pm @ LMETB Athboy

Sunday 25th October - 2pm to 5pm @ LMETB Athboy

(Please bring packed lunch if needed)

Trim gets its name from the Irish 'Átha Troim', meaning the 'Ford of the Elder'. We explore the Brehon tree laws, plant & water place-based wisdom and the role of water in the lives of non-human species and our own creative imaginations. Learn natural dye processes, from scouring to mordant to dye, create lake pigments, ink & fabric block printing. Experiment with the alchemy of colour to complete a place-based colour palette which weaves together Áth Troim, Bealach na Bó Finne and Goddess Bóinn.

Every river carries wisdom. Every landscape holds memory. We are all part of this story — let us listen, learn, and protect.

Description supplied by the event organiser.