Willow - genus Salix - is one of my absolute favorite plants - with well over 30 varieties native to the Pacific Northwest. Willow bark is just one of the many gifts Salix offers us - from medicine to soil retention and weaving to habitat.
During our FULL DAY together we’ll explore from tree to basket! We’ll start with peeling bark from fresh foraged 21 Acres willow. Then we’ll prepare dried willow bark to create beautiful (strong) wearable art and a diagonally plaited basket. You’ll take home one pair of earrings with the accent beads of your choice, a bracelet made to fit, and your basket. Plus your fresh peeled bark! No experience needed. Minimum age 12 (with accompanying adult). Sack lunch encouraged.
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Why now? With spring in full swing and the trees bursting with leaves, the sap is flowing. During this time of year, trees are moving all of the energy they gathered last summer and stored in their roots up and into every branch and twig to grow new leaves. This movement of water and nutrients in the cambium makes is easy to separate the bark from the heartwood. In the later summer and winter the bark is stuck firm to the wood and would be very hard to remove. By hosting class during late spring, we can learn to peel and go home with bark.
Why foraged materials? As a weaver and creator, I’ve made a choice to work with all foraged (or farmed) materials from the PNW. I spend hours exploring and responsibly collecting incredible plants so that I can introduce them to you. I bring them home and care for them while they dry and prepare them for each project - from soaking to hand cutting long glorious stripes of bark. They spend a lot of time with me before you meet them and I love getting to know them. I hope I can inspire you to see their greatness too. I believe that the time, care, and relationship we create with the plants makes my workshops different, special and hopefully a delight!
*For willow bark in particular, it is not a material that most people (or city-folk like me) have access too. That makes it harder to find and collect responsibly. The bark we will use is from 2, 3, and 4-year old rods so it also takes more from the tree to produce in relation to the leaves or stems we might use in other projects. When working with barks, I try to make every square inch count and select projects that are both beautiful and judicious.