As a contemporary visual artist I've been exploring the traditional art of weaving with plant fibers since 1985. I gather materials respectfully, recycling bark off of trees that are being cut down, pruning selectively to encourage the growth and health of plants, and replanting at every opportunity. I enjoy sharing the lessons I've learned from my generous teachers.
Being a hands-on, low-tech type person, I will do my best to make weekly (or at least monthly) posts. I like writing about the making process, worthwhile community projects, and sharing practical ideas of what the seasons have to offer those who are longing to live creatively within the rhythms of the natural world.
Local History – Interview With Barbara Ann Lawrence – Suquamish Tribal Cultural Teacher and Storyteller
I live on the traditional land of the Suquamish People. There is so much history and culture here and all the time I’m learning more, hearing more of the Lushootseed language spoken, watching the canoes being crafted and returning to the waters, witnessing the weavers teaching the next generation of weavers.
Read MorePorch Papermaking With Food Plants – Cardoon and Kale
Spring is flying by and the garden requires my attention. Before I forget, here are a few more plant-fiber paper experiments to share.
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Paper from the Ditch – Weathered Reed Canary Grass
Porch Papermaking last week was an experiment with last season’s Reed Canary Grass that grows in the ditches where I live. Next week…Cardoon.
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Late Winter Papermaking – Mixing Siberian Iris Leaves and Lichens
On the menu for papermaking – as late winter wind storms loosened lichens from the trees and dropped them all over the trails I walk along, I recognize this gift from the canopy above.
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More Spring Porch Papermaking – With Ivy Leaves
I wonder what kind of a paper Ivy leaves will make?
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Here’s What’s Cooking – Porch Paper Making
To remain sane, what do you do? I’m cooking Sword Ferns this month to see if the green leaves can make a good paper.
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Grateful for a Community That Supports Local Artists
Syd and I want to thank all of you who came out to visit us and support our work during the Art in the Woods Studio Tour.
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Art in the Woods Studio Tour 2024
We hope to see you next weekend. Painter Sydni Sterling and I are in Sterling Studio which is Studio #2 in Indianola, just a block away from the Indianola Country Store.
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Mathewson and West’s Woven Wearables Workshop at BARN
Mathewson and West collaborate to teach “Woven Wearables” at Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network.
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Mathewson and West’s October Workshop At Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network
Spend three inspired days exploring local plant-fiber use and universal fiber techniques with two contemporary plant-fiber artists, Margaret Mathewson and Melinda West, at the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network.
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The Launch of the Valkyrie – Anacortes, Washington, US
March 21, 2024, on the first day of Spring, the 56+ foot vessel named Valkyrie, over a decade in the crafting, graced the waters of the Salish Sea.
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Betty Pasco – Recipient of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Arts BRAVA AWARD in 2023
Thinking about one of my favorite people in the world, Betty Pasco.
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