Ryde Arts: The importance of

Cultivate, create, thrive #WeAreRydeArts

Each year, Ryde Arts provides a wealth of opportunities for local people to get involved with the arts in an environment that enriches the lives of artists, participants, and viewers alike. In this issue – the second of our series of features on inspiring Ryde Arts projects – we examine the importance of community and the joys of creating art from nature.

Green Garlands

Made possible by Ryde Arts, Green Garlands is a free-ofcharge festive wreath-making workshop with community at its heart. Originally started by Carol Jaye – helped by stylist and florist Tanya Goodwin – this drop-in event has, over the years, become a much-anticipated December highlight in Ryde town centre; providing space and expert tuition (plus wire rings, masses of holly, ivy, laurel, bay and other natural materials) for local people who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to engage in a creative activity with friends and family. In previous years Green Garlands has seen around 100 participants – some wandering in spontaneously, others queuing outside before it starts.

Accessibility and inclusivity for all has always been central; many participants – including Julie – return year-after-year: “Christmas is always my busiest and most stressful time of year, so being able to do Ryde Arts’ annual Green Garlands workshop with Tanya is a real blessing. Working with natural materials allows me to go back to the roots of this time of celebration. It’s fabulous that Ryde Arts provide accessible, quality workshops throughout the year as it gives people the opportunity to nurture their creative side and rebalance.” 2020 has been an extraordinarily stressful year that has highlighted the need to make time to talk, and tend to our wellbeing. Being involved in any creative activity is proven to promote wellbeing, boost confidence, and create space for social connections – all of which have a positive effect on mental health. Although current guidelines mean that the physicality of Green Garlands will look a little different this year, the community heart and Christmas spirit of the project remain unchanged.

To find out more about plans for this year’s Green Garlands project, visit rydearts.org

Tanya Goodwin’s Green Garlands memories

“I’ve learned many things from this project. It’s helped me discover how to distil a practical process that can be quite complex, into a simpler form and has improved my ability to communicate this confidently to others. Helping people learn a new skill and seeing them apply it is very rewarding. And it’s a joy to see how much pleasure people get from tactile engagement with natural materials that reconnects them, in a small way, back to nature. I have many memories from the Green Garlands project but for me, its continuing value lies in the connections it allows people to make with each other and in the ritual element to the event that’s developed over the years. I think that this type of hands-on participation can help local people feel that they have a stake in the community, by contributing to a larger artistic endeavour that might benefit the whole town.”

Bespoke Wreath, Wild Florist Wild by Tanya Goodwin. Photo credit: Holly Jolliffe

Maker profile: Tanya Goodwin

Many of you may remember the extraordinary seasonal window displays Tanya created for Liz Earle in Union Street. For many years Tanya worked as a stylist for magazines for numerous publications, including the Telegraph, Simple Things, and Country Living Magazine, as well as for artists and makers. While Tanya continues to do styling projects – including for Style of Wight – she is also a florist and picture taker. Inspired by the wild landscapes around us, and storytelling in all its forms, Tanya has recently set up her own floristry – Wild Florist Wild – using flowers sourced from her garden. Bespoke wreaths can be ordered through her website, and in the spring, she plans to start a local flower delivery service called Friday Flowers. tanyagoodwin.co.uk Instagram @tanyagoodwinstylist wildfloristwild.co.uk Instagram @wildfloristwild