Pine (and Cedar) Weaving Course

We were so fortunate that Linda's sister, Lynette, was willing to share her pine needle weaving (coiling) techniques with us.  My friend Roma arranged for the course, and her son paid for Lynette's flight from Fort Nelson, to be with us for the weekend.  What an amazing weekend it was.

I hope they don't mind posting a photo of Lynette and Linda, who started with a slide show of how their collaboration started 12 years ago, and a sampling of the wonderful work which they have created together.

We were asked to make some pots with holes in the rim, for weaving, but due to the short timeframe, most of us didn't have much chance to make our own pots.  So Linda graciously made a set of pots which we could work with, and they supplied us with the Ponderosa Pine needles and sinew (for the stitching/coiling), and other supplies.

This is a shot of some of the work which our class produced this weekend.  It was really fun that although we started with a very similar base, each person put a unique twist on their work, some embellishing with beads, others with handles or other decorations. 

I had prepared my raku pots with really large holes, and I soon realized that the scale of the pots, and the dark colors, didn't suit the pine needles.  They could be stained, but I still think they didn't suit the scale and boldness of the pots.  So I was very pleased when my friend Robin found some cedar branches outside, and started weaving them into her pot.

Here is the class photo with the big cedar pieces added in :

The next day, I went out collecting cedar branches which had fallen in a nearby park, even through two flurries of hail :

I was really pleased with how this cedar, and a black hemp cord, looked with my raku pots:

I finished the lidded pot from Linda, and this cedar pot, in class, and brought home a little platter to finish up on Sunday night.  So these are the three finished pieces I ended up with from the weekend :

...with a closeup of the lidded pot :

...and of the little platter (with handles that look a bit too big, when I look at them now) :

It was such much fun to spend the weekend creating, with a great group of friends and fellow creative people.  My hands were a bit cramped the next day at work, but it was so worth it.