Last week, both classes brought the outdoors in by using some of nature’s gifts including birch bark, leaves of all kinds, roots, and willow in many sizes and lengths. Karen Tembreull’s Eco-Printing on Birch Bark class started with printing a journal cover using leaves, imprinting the design onto sheets of birch bark using a steaming process. This was one of those classes where you want to be there to watch each and every step from start to finish. Assembling the pages and binding the books, then embellishing and embroidering the covers, resulted in some very special pieces, marrying nature and art. What a joy to hold these woodland treasures in hand! We welcomed a new Bent Willow Chair class instructor […]
Vegetable or Mineral
During the visits between Karen Tembreull’s Explorations in Twining class and Kay Rashka’s Metalwork Jewelry Boot Camp last week, exclamations of “these two classes couldn’t be more opposite” were heard. That may be true when it came to the materials used and the manner in which they were manipulated, but the work was equally matched in artistry. These petite, twined baskets started with a vintage spigot handle as a base and incorporated cedar bark, waxed cotton, rush, roots and freshly cut Siberian Iris leaves from the Walter Studio garden. A variety of shapes and combinations of materials made for unique treasures. Karen brought bundles of prepared barks to use in the baskets and several examples of her own twined pieces. […]
