North House is pleased to welcome returning scholar, artisan, and teacher Vladimir Yarish, of Veliky Novgorod, the capitol of Novgorod Province, Russia to teach this course. Vladimir has gathered by hand all birch bark and roots in the dangerous Russian forest full of hungry mosquitoes where he watches for big Russian bears. He cleans, prepares and cuts the bark to size as needed for the various weaving projects. The spruce roots he digs, scrapes and peels the bark away and splits into long pieces. Using a knife, he hand carves all wooden pieces such as the tops for the bottle. He individually hand fits the tops to the students’ baskets. Vladimir’s special handmade Russian kostiks will be lent to students for use in classes. On the first two days of this course, Vladimir will lead students through two classic baskets suitable for students of all levels, the Russian peasant basket and the square to round basket. On the third day, there will be time for students to choose from a list of additional projects based on their own interest. The project fee covers three baskets; additional fees may apply for a third day project choice ($15-$50).