Make Your Own Birch Bark Basket: Plaiting

Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) is a remarkable tree in a number of ways. For thousands of years basketmakers around the world have sought the pliant bark of Birch to make the baskets and vessels that supported the function of daily life.

In this workshop you will learn:

• What makes birch bark so unique and versatile as a natural material
• How to find and gather birch bark without harming any trees
• How to prepare and process birch bark into elegant weaving material
• How to use various plaiting techniques for hand-building functional and beautiful baskets

Join us for this one-day workshop! Take your place in an ancient lineage doing something that your ancestors did, using your hands and creative touch to bring old skills into the future.

About Nick Neddo

Nick Neddo is a sixth generation Vermonter who has been making art since he could first pick up a crayon. He grew up exploring the wetlands, forests and fields of his bioregion and developed a profound curiosity, respect and love for the community of life around him.

As a teenager Nick identified primary focuses that would become life-long pursuits: study of the natural world, Stone Age technology (popularly known as primitive skills) and creating art.

Trusting the inherent value of these skills, he continues to embrace their pursuit with a ravenous appetite fueled by a genuine love of the living world and the creative process. He has traveled the country extensively, visiting the last great wildernesses, seeking traditional skills and experiencing the landscape’s majesty, which are common themes in his work.

Nick has been teaching wilderness survival and living skills, tracking, drawing and nature awareness professionally since 2000, although he considers himself a perpetual student. He makes his art supplies from materials he gathers from the landscape, which is the topic of his book: The Organic Artist.

Nick enjoys clean air, water, food and dirty hands. www.nickneddo.com.

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