Courses

Carry around your studies, tools, or groceries in this beautiful and functional large birch bark tote basket. Students will learn about sustainable techniques for legal harvest and then use hand tools to prepare their 1 inch wide bark strips, and weave them into a tote base. The bag will be…

Discover the sturdiness and the beauty of birch bark by weaving a medium table top basket; perfect for organizing or displaying with its large base, shallow walls, and sturdy rim structure. This rim design will elevate your weaving skills by adding a three-dimensional pattern that mimics the zigzags of the…

From birds to beads, there are so many possibilities when it comes to birch bark. Join accomplished weavers Jack and Julie to learn to weave a variety of small projects, including garlands and a three dimensional star and more. Learn about the ecology of this iconic northern tree and leave…

When northern European immigrants came to North America they brought with them a host of crafts and skills necessary for survival in their new world. The basketry tradition known as ‘stake & strand’ was one such craft, as baskets were used to store nearly everything around the homestead. Learning to…

Why “knot” use cattail leaves to make a handy tote bag? These abundant and easy-to-harvest materials are very flexible, making them a great material for knotted basketry. In this four-day class, students will construct a tote bag of natural materials including cattail leaves, willow bark, iris leaves and sweetgrass. The course…

Natural plant dyes and earth pigments (soil) can add infinite possibilities to highlight or accent your weaving by adding unexpected color to your projects. Instructor Karen Rognsvoog is an experienced natural dyer who is offering her knowledge to experiment with basket making materials. On the first day, we will use…

Create a traditional coiled basket from locally-harvested red pine needles. Starting with either a pliable birch bark base or an elegant agate base, you will work with a variation of the spiral stitch to form a basket with a distinct spiral pattern inside and out. Samples of pine needles from…

An abundance of easily accessed and harvested native materials very suitable for basketry grow in our northern region. In this class we will make a frame with strikingly red osier dogwood and then weave a basket with a handle using a mixture of cattail and iris leaves, basswood fiber, willow…

Over the course of the last 7,000 years, humans have figured out a lot of things to make with willow. From eel traps to hot air balloon baskets, this pliable and abundant material has served humanity well. Explore a wide variety of projects with international guest instructor Steen Madsen of…

The fishing creel is a classic willow project, but let’s be honest: not many of us are wandering down to the local river banks to try our luck with fishing creels anymore. Fear not: this project is really a bag that hangs from the shoulder, attractive and convenient for many…

Join featured instructor Greg Johnson of Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin in this three day course to make traditional Anishinaabe folded birch bark baskets. This style of basket is used for maple sugar storage, but is a beautiful and useful addition to any home. When birch bark is harvested at a…