EartHand Gleaners Society

art ~ ecology ~ people

  • Trillium Stewardship & Studio Days 2019

    Trillium North Park, Malkin @ Thornton, Strathcona
    2019 Saturdays, 10am-4pm
    Tool use and materials, tea & lunch provided
    $10
    Register each session with the links in the descriptions

    Take a breath of fresh air, reconnect with the land and find good company in this playful eco-art program. Engaging in seasonal tasks and linking them with a variety of making skills, from basic weaving with dwarf willow to coil basketry and solar dye jar experiments, this program is a re-mix of our FORAGE program and the 2018 Trillium Community Dyers Club.
    Sponsored by Vancouver Park Board Arts Culture and Engagement, the $10 non-refundable booking fee goes towards snacks — and helps us know you will show up and not leave a space empty that someone else wanted.

    Feb 16 – Winter Willow Harvest, tension trays and random weave – REGISTER

    Feb 16 – Winter — A “willow tasting” of the three varieties that EartHand stewards between Trillium and MOP, this session is perfect for anyone curious to ‘meet’ willow and try their hand at weaving with it in a fun, exploratory atmosphere. Sharon and Rebecca will introduce a selection of forms and techniques  suitable for beginners, including Catalan style tension trays, random weave, and if the willow permits, stripping and weaving with bark strips. This is a free program sponsored by the Vancouver Park Board, the $10 registration fee goes towards a homemade lunch for the group.

    Due to the cold snap this session takes place at MacLean Park Studio — indoors! — at 710 Keefer St in Strathcona

    April 27 – Spring Dye Session – REGISTER

    August 17 – Summer Coil Basketry with grasses and vines – REGISTER

    September 28 – Autumn Dye Session – REGISTER

    This program is sponsored by the Vancouver Park Board

  • Fence Weaving Sessions 2019

    Though it’s highly unlikely that we’ll get the chance to weave in snow again, we’ll still have just as much fun in 2019 practicing (or learning new!) techniques for weaving  pathway fences at our gardens using willows grown on site!
    Obviously, dress for working outdoors with good footwear for rough terrain.     Tools provided
    Free Programs with limited space, so if you take a ticket, please show up!

    Trillium North Park, Malkin & Thornton, Strathcona
    Wednesday 1 May 2019, 6-8pm — REGISTER

    Means of Production Garden, E 6th Ave & St Catherines St, Mount Pleasant
    Sunday 5 May 2019,  1-4pm — REGISTER 
    Thursday 16 May 2019, 6-8pm — REGISTER


    Fence-weaving for Homeschool Families

    Means of Production Garden, Friday 31 May, 1-3pm — REGISTER 
    (A ticket for each child, 8+yrs)

    This session is an adaptation of our community fence weaving workshops, focused on teaching or further developing core weaving principles of under/over and twining while defining new pathways and fences in the mid-level area of Means of Production under the willow arches. This program will be particularly enjoyed by participants from the Seasonal Lessons from the Land program, but is open to all homeschool families, children aged 8+. Instructor: Sharon Kallis

    Please note, tickets are for children, we expect parents to be with a child, max of 2 children per adult for children 10 and under. MOP is uneven terrain, closed toe shoes only please, note no washrooms on site. Rain or shine! Dress for the weather, if the forecast is very dire a notice of reschedule will be sent out 24 hours beforehand

    This free program is offered with support from the Vancouver Park Board Neighbourhood Matching Fund

     

  • Winter Willow Workparties 2019

    Means of Production Garden, E 6th Ave @ St.Catherine’s St, Mount Pleasant
    2019 Saturday 19 January 10am-2pm
    2019 Sunday 3 February 1-4pm
    FREE
    Please REGISTER on Eventbrite

    Bring a snack to share and a cup for tea.

    Help bring in the willow crop at MOP. Learn about  coppicing methods for annual harvests,  rose twist knots for bundling, and try your hand at willow splitting. All are welcome.

    Dress for the weather, rain or shine! Participants can leave with a small bundle of willow for personal projects.

  • Commuters Pack Weaving Guild

    Trillium North Park, Malkin @ Thornton, Strathcona
    and
    MacLean Park Fieldhouse, 710 Keefer St. @ Heatley, Strathcona
    2019, Saturday/Sunday May 25, 26; June 1,2,15; 10am-4pm
    All tool use and materials included
    $305
    REGISTER through PayPal

    cof

    What containers do you pack for your daily journeys – do you use a fold up bag, sling a book bag over your shoulder, or improvise packs for your bicycle? This research group will focus on individual solutions for individual needs, harnessing the power of collective design brainstorming and technique sharing.

    You are encouraged to think of what daily bags you use or need – from lunch boxes to laptop sleeves or custom designed bike baskets or hip packs. Members are expected to design projects suitable for their time and skills. Various fibres will be available for use and participants may want to supplement depending on their project. Potluck program, these full days provide tea and some snacks, please bring something for lunch that can be shared at break time.

    Day 1: May 25 @ Trillium – focus on multiple techniques and materials for refresher including netmaking, tension tray, coiling, twining

    Day 2: May 26 @ Maclean – Group design lab – bring your ideas and use your travel habits to inform the project you take on. Images of different types of baskets, bags and carry methods will get us going as we work as a group and individually to  brainstorm our projects.

    Day 3,4,5: June 1,2,15 @ Trillium – weaving and making dates. These are group studio times to work on your project and get technical advice and assistance.

    Host and Lead: Sharon Kallis

    Technical advisor: Rebecca Graham

    So you know… this  series comes from Sharon’s desire to weave something akin to a paperboy basket for the back of her cargo bike, so Sharon will be designing and weaving along the group on studio days.

  • Pigment, Charcoal, Brushes and Botany Drawing 2019

    Trillium North Park, Malkin @ Thornton, Strathcona
    2019, 4 Tuesdays: June 25, July 2, July 9, July 16, 6-9pm
    All tool use and materials included
    $145
    REGISTER through PayPal

    Screen Shot 2018-12-04 at 12.56.28 PM
    Photos and work by Jaymie Johnson, @jaymsmj

    Taking inspiration from our past programs as well as Nick Neddo’s book, The Organic Artist, we are offering a four session program that will take the group through grinding natural pigments, making paint brushes, drawing charcoal, and finally putting it all to use in a session of botanical drawing at Trillium Park. The group will work collectively each session to create the studio field kits, and divvy up and take home pigments and brushes after the last class.

    June 25 – Pigments with Catherine Shapiro

    July 2 – Charcoal sticks with Rebecca Graham

    July 9 – Brushes with Rebecca Graham

    July 16 – Botanical Drawing with Jaymie Johnson

  • Local Threads: Photos

     

     

  • Material to Maker Matchmaking

    10-11:30 Saturday 29 September @ Roundhouse Community Centre

    A “speed dating” session for Vancouver makers to meet gardeners with plantings and green waste that could be up-purposed for creative use.

    Are you a maker that could help in a garden and/or up-cycle another’s greenwaste? Do you have a garden that produces materials you think might be useful and can give away? Meet others with similar interests and build our city’s fibre shed for creative production!

    HAVE YOU GOT ANY OF THESE?
    For dyes: dahlias, marigolds, dark hollyhocks, coreopsis, pansies, tansy, goldenrod…
    For weaving: yucca, ivy, day lily, New Zealand flax, fruit tree suckers, willows, bamboo, hazelnut…

    Makers: feel free to bring a small sample of your work to help show what you do

    Gardeners: feel free to bring photos of your garden, and a list of what you have growing and when it is usually finished in the garden.

    To get the most of this event, bring a pen and notebook cards with contact info to hand out. We may attempt to organize individuals by location in city, but ‘dates’ will only be 2-5 minutes in length, so be prepared to speak succinctly about what you grow or make.

    RSVP to reserve your spot:
    Event brite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/materials-to-makers-match-making-tickets-48618672759

  • Local Threads: relearning, reciprocity, reconnection on Salish land and sea

    We’re having a show! September 17-29 at the Roundhouse, in Vancouver. There will be images, objects and artefacts from the work unfolding primarily in Means of Production Garden and Trillium North, where crops are grown for basketry, cloth, dye, tool making and musical instruments; as well as workshops and interactive events throughout the course of the exhibition. Our lines of inquiry range from growing flax for linen and plants for collective dye pots, to up-purposing fish skins from food industry waste into leather. When we look at what grows in the garden, or at gaps in local industry, we find opportunities to explore traditions of place and the Salish People whose land we stand on; we awaken sleeping knowledge, and discover how making can connect us in shared cultural inquiry.

    Here is a sneak peek at what will be going on:

    Opening Reception: Thu Sep 20 6-8pm, followed by artists talks 8-9pm  by guest visiting artists June Pardue and Peter Ananin  – no registration required

    Community Sewing Circles
    Fri Sep 21, Mon Sep 24 2-5pm
    Tue Sep 25, Wed Sep 26, Thu Sep 27, 1-4pm
    Inspired by lessons from June and Charlie Pardue (Alaska), participants will practice the waterproof stitch technique in sewing salmon leather. No registration required

    Interactive Tannery
    Sat Sep 22, Tue Sep 25, Wed Sep 26, Thu Sep 27, 1-4pm
    Social entrepreneur Peter Ananin (Scotland) supports local practitioners in creating a temporary Interactive Tannery for fish leather based on small-scale tanneries he has created using discarded items.

    September 29
    Join us for a fantastic and full  final exhibition day at the Roundhouse.  Make new connections for your creative pursuits or to meet your garden’s care needs, watch a Salish weaving demonstration by Tracy Williams, and join various steps in a multi-activity net making event. Bring your lunch, a waterbottle and come ready to learn and engage with others.

    Registration is appreciated for Materials to Makers

    10-11:30am
    Material to Maker Match-Making:
    A “speed dating” session for Vancouver urban makers to meet gardeners with plantings and green waste that could be up-purposed for creative use. Are you a maker that could help in a garden and or up-cycle another’s greenwaste? Do you have a garden that produces materials you think might be useful and can give away? Meet others with similar interests and build our city’s fibre shed for creative production! Register here

    11am-12:30pm
    Salish Weaving Demonstration
    Tracy Williams will be weaving some of the wool spun during the Land &  Sea walks onto a cedar warp. There will be an interactive parallel activity for drop in participation.

    12.30-4pm
    Plants to Net Event: Inspired by ‘sheep to shawl’ events, new skill-holders lead community participants in this challenge to create a one-day-net with nettle stalks and local linen. Pounding and breaking, spinning and thigh-rolling; traditional Coast Salish and European methods and plants used together in a relay of hand work! This event will may spill out of doors, please dress for the weather.

    EartHand Gleaners Society is made up of artists, makers and educators who believe that bringing people together to share creative projects that connect us with the land helps our communities become strong, resilient and more just. We connect makers with materials that come directly from the land around them, modelling ‘How to be a Producer without first being a Consumer’. By working with the plants around us using ancestral skills common to all cultures, we inspire participants to discover cultural connections, learn new skills, and discover novel sources of raw materials for creative practices, including garden waste, invasive plants, and textile waste.

    This exhibitions has been made possible by funding from BC Arts Council, City of Vancouver Cultural Services, Vancouver Park Board, and Roundhouse Community Centre, with support from Skwachays Lodge, Skipper Otto’s Community Supported Fishery, and community members

     

  • Land & Sea: Horizons

    After a year of shared conversations and experiences of nettle, flax, nets, fish leather, and what it means to be living and striving for connection in the lands of the Salish Peoples, we launch into the final  investigations and celebration of the work we have done. Coming together, we have broadened our understanding of traditions in fish leather and netmaking – our shared coastal connections – and moved a little bit further toward understanding and honouring the link between sustainability and decolonization.

    All of these various threads — when tied together —  build a larger, stronger social net of skill holders with a shared understanding of material processes, material access and conversations about this place. Methods of reciprocity with our environment stay at the forefront while ongoing public engagement seeds the work back into key communities and to the general public.

    Final events leading up to the Local Threads Exhibition:

    Shoreline Walks: measuring labour to land: Out of our seats from circles, we walk, talk and explore the urban shoreline in guided making/walks. Twine becomes part of interactive net-making for the Local Threads exhibition; audio recordings of walk leaders sharing stories and perspectives become soundpiece and oral history of the area. Guest Host Nation walk leaders coordinated by Kamala Todd.

    June 27, July 4, August 15, 22
    REGISTER HERE

    Net Work: Net-making research sessions work toward fluency with the net needle while producing as large a net as possible; exploring sculptural possibilities of floats, weights. This programming is free with the hope that participants will volunteer their time as community skill holders on Saturday Sept 29 at the ‘Plants to Net Event’ at the Roundhouse, part of the Local Threads Exhibition
    Email earthandgleaners at gmail dot com to express your interest in becoming a community skill holder — take a leap, “perfection is the stick used to beat the possible” ~ Rebecca Solnit

    July 10, 18, August 14,  6-9pm at Trillium North Park;
    Roundhouse Local Threads exhibition ‘Plants to Net’ event 12:30-4pm Saturday Sept 29

     

    Other Events (invitation only) August: Fish Leather and Nettle fibre workshops are unfolding with our project community partners, sharing what has been learned with various communities.

    See LOCAL THREADS for interactive events and workshops at the Roundhouse during the exhibition

    The Land & Sea Project has been made possible by funding from BC Arts Council, City of Vancouver Cultural Services, and Vancouver Park Board

    Thanks to our Community Partners Skipper Otto’s Community Supported Fisheries and Skwachays Lodge

     

  • Wayfinding: Weaving 2018

    Nicole Preissl (Stolo) and Veronica Rose (Gitxsan) will be leading a series of interactive and informative walks for participants aged 13-24 who are interested in weaving with natural fibres. The walks will take place between MOP and Trillium North Park, where EartHand Gleaners has their locations. The walks are meant to engage youth in weaving activities, discussion of place making and learning skills that incorporate indigenous plants into art making. The walks will all be held on the evenings and weekends in July. Harvesting will coincide with planting of indigenous seeds, and casual weaving will take place during discussion from the walk leaders and from local guest speakers. The walks are meant to be a way for youth to engage with more holistic ways of weaving and making, and to begin to consider our relationships with this land as home and provider.

    All walks 7-9pm; meet at Means of Production Garden (6th & St.Catherines, Vancouver) unless otherwise noted

    July 10

    July 12

    July 15

    July 17

    July 19

    July 24

    July 26

    July 29