October 2017 Wild Basketry Mentorship

Once again we’ve done it. To the tune of warm breezes and blue skies of just after rain a wonderful group of women spent the day making baskets using plant materials that we harvested and processed together. This month’s project has been in the making since day one way back in May when participants arrived to find a basswood tree propped up on sawhorses and a drawknife resting next to it. Little did they know they would be removing the outer bark to expose the inner bark which would be soaked until it smelled nasty, rinsed 6 weeks later, and then made into cordage by hand over the next few months. Was it somewhat tedious and stinky? Definitely. Was it worth it? YES! This past Sunday each person used the cordage they made to make twined bags. As usual each one was totally unique. And as usual I felt an incredible pride and excitement seeing this project come to fruition.

Did I mention last month that I’ll be extending this program to be 9 months next year? I’m already dreaming about it (and the possibly of doing two programs– one advanced for those who have experience and one for new participants) More on that in December/January when I release the dates.

Below is a sampling of the creativity and good times we had making these beautiful twined bags. Also I have to give a shout out to the best baked goods I’ve ever had (Virginia, you are amazing) and the greatest porch location for a workshop ever (thanks Rigmor!!!). ; )

Until next time happy basket weaving!