This creative workshop explores the hidden stories held within shell middens—ancient deposits of discarded shells, bones, and ash left behind by past communities. Middens provide rich archaeological insights into diet, environment and seasonal harvesting practices across time.

Inspired by this intersection of history, environment, and material culture, participants will create their own contemporary 'middens' of meaning. You will write a haiku reflecting on themes of memory, place, or transformation, and then paint your poem onto bisque-fired shells using porcelain ceramic paints. The process connects poetic expression with tactile, natural surfaces shaped by fire and imprints of the sea.
This workshop invites reflection on what we leave behind, how stories endure, and how everyday materials, once discarded, can become vessels of beauty, memory, and insight.

Midden workshop – Shells
Drop-in, allow 15-30 minutes for the activity.

Sessions Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as part of the ArtScience Exhibition.