Coiled Northwest Sweet Grass Basket (Bainbridge Island, WA)

Jo and George Hart, of Wilderness Basketry, have had amazing success growing their own NW Sweet Grass in their large beautiful garden in Seabeck Washington.  

George will be teaching the Coiled Basketry technique.  This style of basket involves sewing as part of the construction.  

In this beginning to intermediate class, students will be using the Harts’ homegrown NW Sweet Grass, which grows naturally in protected Pacific NW estuaries, for the core or foundational material of the coil.  Natural and dyed raffia will be used as the wrapping and stitching material which holds the coils together, one on top of another.  

George is a wonderful and patient teacher who enjoys passing on the traditional knowledge he has learned about the coiling technique.  He will teach students how to:

•  start either a round or oblong start; 
• how to shape the basket by the angle of the needle; 
• how to add a simple design using dyed raffia;
• how to finish the basket with a braided rim. 

Part of the class will be a demonstration and a discussion by the instructor of:  how to coil with other materials such as cedar roots, or paper core; how to make an imbricated design with cherry bark, and horsetail root; and how to do beaded design with Bear Grass.

Materials Fee Per Student Payable to BARN at Class:  $40 per student

https://bainbridgebarn.wildapricot.org/event-2514790?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=9/28/2017

Instructor Bio:  George Hart grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  He is a recently retired Fish and Wildlife Biologist, and has always felt connect to nature.  George devoted many years to the gathering, harvesting, and preparation of native plant materials, with his wife Jo Ann, before he developed his own interest in basket making.  When he did finally attempt his first basket, his wife couldn’t help notice that the weaving seemed to come naturally to him.  George has studied with many native and non-native fiber artists, and has also studied carving with Duane Pasco.  He has been a member of the NW Basket Weavers Guild for many years.  His preferred techniques are coiling and twining.  He likes learning about all kinds of materials, and enjoys sharing his passion for fine weaving.