When we share our art making with others, magic happens!
We are grateful for the wonderful students that turned out for the Woven Wearables workshop this October at the Bainbridge Artisans Resource Network (BARN). Some of you came from as far as Oregon and Alaska. Others traveled less physical distance, but you all had in common that you made space in your lives for this creative time of growth together. That is a good thing to do. The first time I taught at BARN was in 2014. That Wild Viney Twiney Basket workshop was held at a rented building in Rolling Bay, Washington, then called the Rolling BARN. Years before the present facility was built, programs were being developed for each of the eleven studios. Now a decade later, how gratifying it is to be in the Fiber Art Studio and see what all those volunteers worked so hard to bring to life! A beautiful place for makers to create and learn from each other.
One of the gifts of being a plant-fiber weaver is the interesting journey we embark on. I marvel at the enriching friendships formed, the discovery of life lessons found in Nature, and the responsibility of learning how to pass on knowledge in a good way. In recent years I’ve pulled back from teaching and exhibiting to allow myself time to muse about ways I can authentically weave these three marvels together in some form of documentation. Only the pure joy of collaborating with dear friend and mentor Pegg Mathewson to teach in the beautiful Fiber Art Studio at BARN could pull me out of my semi-retirement once again!
We did bring in a mountain of natural plant materials! Barks, limbs, roots, vines, and soft leaves, stems and grasses like those below. To make sure we don’t bring any little critters into our homes when we collect or bring in new materials, we need to be sure to freeze them 3 days, bring them out to air for 3 days, then freeze them again for 3 days. Be mindful of little piles of bark dust, or bore holes in your grass or bark. In other words, good housekeeping means checking on your materials regularly. Keep in mind that sun and moisture are the destroyers of plant materials in general.
We had the most wonderful and enthusiastic students imaginable! It was a large class for covering so many techniques and materials, so we focused on making “models” of various techniques used in some fun basic Woven Wearable projects.
I mostly took pictures on the first day. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to capture all the cool creations students made as they progressed. But I was blown away by everyone’s creative take on the techniques offered.
Our emphasis was on process, not so much product! There is so much to learn about the characteristics of plants, the parts of plants more useful for one task over another, etc. Just figuring out how to grow, how to gather, how to dry materials, how to store them, how to mellow them for further preparation and then use them in weaving, requires many lifetimes!
I am grateful to BARN and to Cyndy Holtz who coordinates the Basketry Program there. I’m grateful for Pegg (Margaret) Mathewson, for her lifetime of making art with plants, her encyclopedic knowledge of botany and ecology, and her playful way of teaching, experimenting and pushing techniques to create her own original designs. Spending time with Pegg is truly inspiring.
I am especially grateful for each of you in the workshop, who contributed your own unique perspectives, experiences and good energies, making this a memorable time together. Pegg and I hope you learned something new, and we hope you had fun. We wish you continued joy in your creative journeys and thank you for being part of ours.
An awareness of nature and its cycles is part of the creative process. And when we share our art making with others, magic happens!
Thank you for listening!
