Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

Growing, gathering, and weaving with plant fibers from the Pacific Northwest

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Ed Carriere’s Fish Net Anchor Artifact Workshop at BARN

June 5, 2018 By Melinda

Ed Carriere’s Baskets
Ed Carriere’s Baskets

Suquamish Master Weaver Ed Carriere and I really enjoyed being able to share a fun project with wonderful creative students at Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network, or BARN, this past May 5, 2018.

By Holly

Fish net anchors have been made and used by Coast Salish Peoples since they began fishing the waters of the Salish Sea from six to ten thousand years ago. Ed learned how to recreate these artifacts through his recent work with archaeologist, Dale Croes, which is documented in the 2018 book they have co-authored: “RE-AWAKENING ANCIENT SALISH SEA BASKETRY – FIFTY YEARS OF BASKETRY STUDIES IN CULTURE AND SCIENCE”, available through Amazon.

Ed Carriere at BARN 2018
Ed Carriere at BARN 2018

Ed Carriere class at BARN

Ed Carriere demonstrates
Ed Carriere demonstrates

Ed brought in all the tools, the best stones and materials to use while practicing this technology.

Ed Carriere’s Baskets
Ed Carriere’s Cedar Limb & Root Baskets

Ed also brought in many examples of his impeccable work woven with plant materials.

Melinda Wests Examples
Melinda Wests Examples
Materials for Making Necklaces
Materials for Making Necklaces
Ed Carriere cleaning Wild Cherry Bark
Ed Carriere cleaning Wild Cherry Bark

Ed demonstrated how to clean Wild Cherry Bark which was commonly used as the lashing material in the ancient artifacts that Ed studied.  He also showed us how to split cedar limbs, roots, and inner bark as usable for lashing the stones to the special “Y” twigs that were traditionally used.

Ed Carriere Teaching at BARN
Ed Carriere Teaching at BARN

Students watched Ed’s hands at work as he demonstrated the process of cradling a rock in a branch that has grown into a “Y” joint, then lashing the stone in a way that keeps it from falling out.  “Practice is the best teacher” Ed says with a chuckle after he shows us an example of a Net-Anchor, absent the stone, that he made when he was teaching himself.

Students at BARN
Students at BARN
Fiber Art Studio
Fiber Art Studio

Then, off to practicing.  Some students had brought special stones, or beach glass they had been saving to use in this creative endeavor.

Ed and I were there to support students while they worked on their skills.  We encouraged them to explore using different materials as well. Ed and I were so impressed by their creative work, as you can see here for yourself.

Sue’s artifact replicas
Sue’s artifact replicas
Julie’s artifact replicas
Julie’s artifact replicas
Carol’s artifact replicas
Carol’s artifact replicas
Holly’s artifact replicas
Holly’s artifact replicas
Corrine’s artifact replicas
Corinne’s artifact replicas
Jess’ artifact replicas
Jess’s artifact replicas
Andrea’s artifact replicas
Andrea’s artifact replicas
Jake’s artifact replicas
Jake’s artifact replicas
Ed was so impressed with these students
Ed was so impressed with these students
Ellen Miyasato was our BARN class assistant
Ellen Miyasato was our BARN class assistant

We thank BARN for hosting this workshop and are grateful to Ellen Miyasato who was our BARN assistant.  We wouldn’t have been able to have this very special sharing experience with Ed Carriere if it weren’t for each of these wonderful students who added their own creative ingredients!

Jake, Mary, Andrea, Jess, Corinne, Sue, Julie, Carol, Holly and Ellen:  Thank you for sharing this time with us.  We hope you continue to enjoy the creative process as you keep making treasures from nature that will delight you and others!

 

 

Filed Under: Community, My Teachers, News, Students, Workshops Tagged With: Adult students, Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN workshops, Ed Carriere, Fish Net Anchor Artifact

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About Melinda

Forty years ago, while sitting on the beach playing with my young children, I made my first basket out of a pile of willow trimmings someone had tossed there. It looked wildly made like a crazy bird’s nest. While being together with my two sons on a beautiful Pacific Northwest shoreline, this simple experience of crafting with the natural materials at hand kindled a passion for creating forms using plant fibers. I thank my family, my community, and all my teachers for cultivating this gift in me.
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