It’s been fun and interesting experimenting with how to extract the cellulose fibers from various native, naturalized, and invasive plants that live in our gardens and all around our neighborhood. Because, like Stinging Nettle, Fireweed bast fiber was also traditionally utilized by the First Peoples of this region for cordage making, and it … [Read more...]
Plants Have Fibers – And Other Good Lessons
Thank you for looking at this blog. I haven’t been writing much this past year, for various reasons, but I hope to share more with you in the coming months. Last year was dedicated to working on some projects I’d started, but never seemed to have the time to finish, like the Suquamish-Indianola Storytelling Project. I learned that sometimes … [Read more...]
A Space to Work and Meet
This has been a year hasn’t it? Fear of losing family and friends to a virus that is transmitted unwittingly by those with no symptoms. Uncertainty. Misinformation. No work, or work from home. No school, or school from home. A daily bombardment from those in leadership who behave the opposite of how we hope to raise our children to behave. … [Read more...]
More Pictures From NCI Art Retreat
I am a hunter-gatherer of plant materials and I use them for specific fiber technologies. Because of the rarity of some materials, the time put into the gathering of others, and the painstaking preparation of most of the materials once gathered, I have developed the habit of saving my scraps. When I met Sue Smith in the late 1980's early 1990's, … [Read more...]
Workshop at North Cascades Institute 2012
I'll be teaching a fun class inspired by the Northwest landscape and First Peoples traditional uses of the plant fiber resources. Come to this rejuvenating Artist's Retreat in the beautiful North Cascades. Be sure to ask NCI about how to qualify for a partial tuition scholarship. A description and details are available at the North Cascades … [Read more...]
