Poisonous Plant Pocket-Guide Workshop: Embroidery & Lily of the Valley

In this free workshop, you will be introduced to Lily of the Valley through embroidery. A plant with a complicated history that will emerge on your fabric with every stitch you learn. Over the three hours, which will start with a brief introduction, demonstrations, and time to practice, we will work together as you create your own embroidered Lily of the Valley artwork.

This workshop ends with a nature walk to view Lily of the Valley in High Park. The walking path includes paved and dirt pathways, hills, and a section of High Park's dog off-leash area. If there is heavy rainfall or other inclement weather, the nature walk portion of the workshop will be cancelled and we can continue our embroidery during this time.

All materials will be provided, participants are encouraged to take home their artwork and practice fabric after the workshop!

Everyone is welcome to join in, no matter what your level of stitching might be. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times. This event will take place rain or shine under covered Picnic Table Area 15 within High Park. Please keep an eye out for an email with more information after you purchase your tickets.

There will be a limited number of drop-in spots available on the day of the workshop. First-come first-served.

About your instructor:

Sarah Zanchetta (she/they) is an artist, educator, and writer whose textile practice dives into her loss of connection to nature through hands-on mending and research of poisonous plants. She questions what it means to be in kinship with the poisonous, creating intimate works as a space to unfold curiosities, care, and anxieties about what grows beneath our feet.

Zanchetta is a graduate of the Master of Visual Studies Studio program at the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University. Her practice has been supported by the Ontario Arts Council, and has collaborative community-based work in the permanent collections of the Kortright Centre for Conservation and Evergreen Brick Works. Their work has been shown internationally, with most recent exhibitions at Fais-Moi L'Art (Montreal, Canada) and Art Museum (Toronto, Canada).

This workshop is part of a larger art project that has received funding support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario. Thank you for your support!

Host or Publisher Sarah Zanchetta