Traditional Crafts
When I play and explore with natural local materials, that I have gathered and prepared myself, I feel such a connection to my ancestors, who has a close relationship with the natural world around them, relying on it for their food, clothes, housing, storage and everything they needed to survive.
Celebration of the passing seasons entailed creating beautiful and decorative ornaments using the material of the season, in honour of the natural world and its produce, a very important thing to celebrate.
Sometimes I feel that weaving is embedded in our DNA, since humans existed we woe together fabrics to make clothes, blanket and carrying utensils.
Unfortunately there is such a disconnect with the natural world in this consumeristic world and many of us have forgotten the process of finding, harvesting, preparing and creating natural materials to make every day useful household items.
Our landscapes are full with amazing materials for us to play with and explore, in a sustainable and careful way.
My journey with playing with natural material began as a small child like many of us, I crushed rocks into a powder and made paint, I made nests and baskets out of dried grasses, flower perfumes and of course mud pies. This curiosity has never left me and I did my first basket weaving courses when I was 21, willow and rush, but it was the soft rush that stayed in my heart and I longed to explore more. I am so lucky to live right next to a lake where the Bull rush grows and I hope it alway will.
'Green grow the Rushes go"
"Glas, fás, Luachair Fás."
Holding the threads of life
A wonderful story by Micheal Meade the mythic story teller of native America.