Melinda West | West Gardens Basketry

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

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Karen Sherwood at BARN-Birch Bark Knife Sheath

July 16, 2018 By Melinda

Karen Sherwood at BARN
Karen Sherwood at BARN

It was a delight for me to be part of Karen Sherwood’s Birch Bark Knife Sheath making workshop at the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network.

Selecting the Parts
Selecting the Parts

Karen brought in Swedish Carving knives for every student, and provided beautiful materials which she had carefully chosen so we could all be successful.

Karen Sherwood demo
Karen Sherwood demo

Karen demonstrated how the birch bark can be “persuaded” to change the natural direction it would like to curl, with a little hot water from the kettle.

Heating the Birch Bark
Heating the Birch Bark
Karen Sherwood’s Birch Bark Knife Sheaths
Karen Sherwood’s Birch Bark Knife Sheaths

Then we stitched and stitched away. No time for me to take pictures.

Birch Bark Knife Sheaths
Birch Bark Knife Sheaths

And everyone completed a beautiful durable knife sheath for their Swedish Carving Knives! I can’t wait to make another.

Karen Sherwood and her husband have a business called Earthwalk Northwest, Earthwalk Northwest, with a mission of preserving ancient skills and wisdom for future generations.

Check out their website. More about Karen’s two day Backpack Basket workshop up next.

Filed Under: Community, News, Students, Workshops Tagged With: Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, BARN, BARN workshops, Birch Bark Knife Sheath, Earthwalk NW, Karen Sherwood

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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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