Basketry & Fiber Arts
This is our listing of all our classes in this category, on the ones listed in the Current Classes Section are scheduled the rest are TBA.
Current Classes
Search:
| Event | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| The Gatherers Program: Foraging, Herbal Medicine, & Basketry |
|
Register |
| Black Ash Berry Baskets |
|
Sold Out |
| Stake and Stand Willow Basketry |
|
Sold Out |
| Black Ash Workhorse Tote |
|
Register |
| Roots Rendezvous |
|
Register |
| Ribbed Willow Basket Weaving |
|
Sold Out |
| Black Ash Pack Baskets |
|
Register |
Black Ash Berry Baskets
Make your own berry basket and in the process learn one of the oldest crafts in human history. For thousands of years, in every culture, people have been crafting beautiful, durable and useful vessels from the materials at hand. Carry on the tradition and take home a beautiful, durable and useful basket made from local and responsibly harvested, hand pounded black ash logs.
Stake and Strand Willow Weaving
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
Hat Felting
In this one day course students will make their own felted hat. Felt is amazingly warm both wet or dry, naturally water repellent, and durable. The felting process allows us to take carted and dyed wool and build hats with several different designs and patterns. This means you can choose to make several styles of hat, such as a fedora, a boonie, or a simple beanie style hat. You can also choose to design your colors based on purely style and aesthetics, or use it to craft a very effective camouflage pattern, something felt is incredibly well suited for creating. From what you learn in this course you can then go and create all manner of hats for yourself, your friends and family.
Felting
Felting is what takes loose strands of wool and transforms it into a workable and versatile fabric. For thousands of years felt has been used for shelter, clothing, armor, musical instruments, rugs, bags, and is a hard to beat option for hunting camouflage. While being a notably versatile fabric, it is also easy to learn. This class will focus on the properties and techniques of wet felting/fulling with sheep’s wool. For the class students can pick from a small assortment of project such as hats or seamless bags and more. While felting we will discuss wool preparation, natural dyes, and more exotic fibers. We will cover dry needle felting at the end of the class time allowing. So come learn this traditional art, and go home knowing how to make fabric!
The Gatherer's Program: Foraging, Herbal Medicine, & Basketry
Learn from the world of plants through hands on connections and experience. Sarah and several talent guest instructors will guide you through building willow and black ash gathering baskets and then use them to gather wild edibles and medicines. Herbalism and foraging, and cordage will round out this 8 month, one weekend a month course.
Ribbed Willow Baskets
Join accomplished basket weaver Sandra Kehoe for two days of ribbed basketry. Throughout the course students will learn about the tools and materials that allow for not only functional but beautiful baskets to be constructed. Sandra will cover where to source materials and how to selected the right willow for each step in the process. As your basket comes together Sandra shares her knowledge of other willow basket builds and styles and helps to grow a functional knowledge of the art of willow basketry. Spaces limited.
Natural Dyes
Natural dyes are a beautiful and effective means to bring color to the fabrics in our lives. We will be focusing on dying wool, engaging with various natural materials employing non-toxic means. We will be able to pull the vivid richness of primary colors as well as the muted greens and grays that blend into the landscape. If you so choose, the following day you will be able utilize the naturally dyed wool in our felt hat making workshop making a colorful expression of the yourself and the world or a camouflage hat that can’t be beat by conventional production.
Twined Basketry
Twining is perhaps one of the earliest weaving techniques used by our ancestors. The relative simplicity and durability of twined vessels resulted in their manufacture and use all over the world, by cultures far and wide. Twined baskets can be lose and open, or can be crafted tight enough to hold water. This class introduces you to a variety of materials to work with, but will focus on the use of cattail leaves.
Diagonal Plaiting Birch BarK
Learn to take birch bark from winter killed birch trees and turn it into gorgeous and functional baskets. In this course we will focus on the diagonal plaiting method of weaving which is applicable to a wide variety of projects, shapes, and materials. This course is great for folks looking for a fun and simple handcraft, to up their primitive skills, or for those interested in field experienced vessels.
Fibers From a Wild Landscape
Humankind’s relationship to fibers and fiber technology stretches back along our time line thousands upon thousands of years, resulting in a globally practiced, rich, and varied tradition. In our modern age, we have access to seemingly endless inexpensive synthetic fibers. While useful, this has reduced our need to procure, process, and provide them for ourselves, and distanced ourselves from the plants and animals that provide these materials. This class invites you to return to a practice that we have relied upon for countless generations. Come process a variety of plant and animal based fibers, gain a better understanding of string technology from identification, processing, basic spinning, in the hand weaving, and create some beautiful and functional works of art. Stay or come back for Sunday and use the fibers you have made in the Twined Basketry Class.