Online: Intro to Woven Upcycled Functional Art
Online: Adult | This program has been canceled
4 Tuesdays, 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
If you are an artist looking for creative ways to make your practice more sustainable, look no further! For thousands of years, people have been making baskets with materials they found in the world around them. Now you can turn stuff you would normally recycle or trash into whimsical and useful home décor. Your imagination is the only limit – there is so much potential in things often thought of as useless. Students will be introduced to two basic basket weaving techniques - plaiting and twining. You will learn to make a base, weave the sides, and finish a basket with a rim.
- This class will be held on Zoom.
- Required Supplies:
- Materials
- - Clean, dry materials from your recycling or trash that can be cut into strips, is flat and strong, but also flexible, or that can be turned into cords, such as:
- - Soda cans
- - Onion bags
- - Food packaging (bags or boxes)
- - Wires or cables
- - Plastic bags
- - Old textiles with holes or stains
- - Window screens
- - Broken stuff you are fond of
- - Cords, strings, twines of any kind (bits of yarn, crochet thread, etc.)
- Tools
- - Sharp scissors for paper and/or fabric
- - Wire cutters (if you are using any wire)
- - Large-eye sewing needles, such as tapestry or chenille needles
- - Ruler
- - Small clips or clamps, such as sewing clamps, binder clips
- Recommended Tools and Supplies:
- - Awl
- - Needle-nose pliers
- - Cutting mat
- - Mat knife
- - Small flat head screwdriver
- - Zip ties
Kimberley Harding
she/her/hers
Kimberley Harding experiments with texture and color in three-dimensional weaving to create works inspired by nature and personal experiences. Additionally, she weaves traditional basketry forms using conventional reed and contemporary painted paper techniques. She strives to create objects that induce the urge to touch – something that seems forbidden.
Originally trained as an educator, Harding expressed her creativity within the constraints of teaching, family and volunteer endeavors. Her work has always involved fiber techniques such as loom weaving, sewing, knitting, crochet, resist dyeing and embroidery. First introduced to basketmaking in 2015, she remarked, “I feel as though I am recalling an alternate life when weaving – I am certain I did this before.”