A recent opportunity seemed too good to pass up- so we have tweaked our Closets Unpacked Program, and wanted to share the exciting news!
For those living in the lower mainland area that register in this program, we will self-organize trips to Barnston island where a small plot of land will be ready for us to plant flax for linen. We will spend in total 3 afternoons on the farm with Susan and John, tend to our little crop, meet our fibre friends, and have lunch together… local road trip!
This is such a beautiful way of rounding out how we think about our closets and the origin of our clothing- and set intentions for how our wardrobes become more local in the future. The crop will be shared by participants and support for retting and processing will be organized for later summer gatherings.
We are excited to announce the return of Cultural Territories 101, a continuation of where we left off last Spring. This time around Nicole will invite guests to research, learn and discuss pertinent topics that effect these Nations and their sovereignty. Nicole will be leading light discussion around the plants, fibres, weaving and cultural practices of each Nation while also discussing how current day colonialism has come into play.
We are excited to welcome people from all knowledge levels and group participation/discussion is highly encouraged. This is a space to learn, listen and share and we look forward to having you.
Nations in Discussion: Dene Tha’, Acho Dene Koe, Kaska Dena.
With much of the region lying east of the Rockies, the physical geography of the Northeast is distinct from much of the rest of the province: a vast and remote area of foothills, forests, lakes and the Peace River valley. The eastern region beyond the Rockies is the traditional territory of the Dene Tha’ cultural group and further north, the Acho Dene Koe. The mountainous western border of the region is considered traditional Kaska Dena territory. (from BCAFN website)
Nations in Discussion: Dakelh, Wet’suwet’en and Łingít
The Nechako region is comprised of the Traditional Territories of the Łingít, Sekani and Kaska Dene in the north and the Dakelh, Wet’suwet’en further south. The land is generally mountainous, with many large lakes and rivers that have sustained a traditional economy and trade system since time immemorial. (taken from BCAFN website)
Nations in discussion: Nisga’a, Tsimshian, Haida, Tahltan, Gitxsan.
The North Coast Region is comprised of the Traditional Territories of the Coast Tsimshian along the Skeena River and surrounding its delta; the Haida on Haida Gwaii; the Tlingit along the coast north of Prince Rupert; the Nisga’a along the Nass River Valley and its delta; and the Tahltan along the Stikine River and further inland. The Coastal geography is made up of fruitful oceans, vast temperate coastal rainforests, and deep fjords that quickly give way to drier mountainous climates further inland. The region houses many large rivers including the Nass, Skeena and Stikine. (taken from BCAFN website)
Nations in discussion: Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Kwakwak’awakw
The geographically diverse Vancouver Island and Coast region contains mountains, fertile agricultural lands, beaches, ancient rainforests, rivers, fjords, and archipelagos, which make up the traditional territory of many Coast Salish groups: Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Wuikinuxv, Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw, and Da’naxda’xw in the northern mainland portion of the region adjacent to Queen Charlotte Sound; Quatsino, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Kwakwak’awakw on north and central Vancouver Island; Ditidaht, Pacheedaht, Saanich, Beecher Bay [Scia’new], Malahat, Nanoose [Snaw-naw-as], Songhees, Sooke [T’sou-ke], and Hul’qumi’num on southern Vancouver Island. (taken from BCAFN website)
Nicole carding wool at Trillium
Nicole Preissl was born and raised in Burnaby but is Sto:lo from Leq’a:mel First Nation. Her
great-grandmother was Squamish from X̱wemelch’stn and great grandfather from Katzie. Nicole is an active alumna and Emily Carr community member (BDes, 2019), passing on her knowledge to others through workshops in the Aboriginal Gathering Place. Nicole has been actively involved with EartHand as an emerging skill-holder since 2018, learning while sharing: weaving, spinning, stories of place and most recently the Cultural Territories 101 program.
Thank you to BC Arts Council and EartHand Gleaners supporters for making this program series possible!
We will be making willow tension trays, a simple project that can be used as a serving platter, hot plate, wall hanging or drying rack. This is a great introduction to basketry as it employs techniques that can be applied to a variety of materials and requires very few tools. We will cover hoop-making and a basic weave, then learn more advanced techniques and embellishments. We will discuss wild-harvesting, cultivating willow, storage and preparation of materials. This project is fun and accessible to weavers of all ages and experience levels!
Depending on your weaving speed and materials you may complete multiple trays throughout the three sessions, or complete one over the three sessions.
Workshop fee does not include materials — lower mainland residents will have an opportunity to purchase a willow material bundle from EartHand for $20 which will cover the main projects outlined. Winlaw/Nelson area participants will be able to purchase a similar willow bundle directly from Gwen for $20 before the first session. For those wanting to provide their own materials a list will be emailed one week prior to class start.
Tools required: garden shears/clippers.
As a virtual series, Zoom and camera capability is required to participate.
Image courtesy of Gwen
Artist Bio:
Gwen has been enthralled with willow since she wove her first basket in 2010. During an apprenticeship with a master weaver on Hornby Island, BC, she learned the foundations of willow basketry and has expanded her craft alongside accomplished weavers in Canada, the U.S. and England. She established a willow farm in 2019, growing over 20 varieties of basketry willow that are coppiced annually. She teaches popular basketry workshops on her homestead in Winlaw, BC, and sells her wares at local markets. As a homesteader and naturalist, Gwen finds the process of growing and working with willow deeply nourishing and is keen to pass on the art and craft of basketry to all those interested in learning.
This is a paid guild with tiered pay-what-you-can tickets:
$68 – Sponsored Placement (SP)
$85 – Volunteer Supported (VS)
$95 – Community Patron (CP)
Subsidized spaces in this program are available thanks to the generous donations of EartHand community members. For more information about our pricing scale see this blog post.
Get your ticket here! And your willow material bundle here!
How does community, tradition and heritage shape our conceptions of who we are and how we respond to the conditions we find ourselves living in?
In coming to terms with how to love, how to live and how to be in relationships while preserving our truth, join us in the Spring for Networks of Care to connect around supporting ourselves and each other during disaster. As an experiment in imagining relationships and care outside of charity, domination and ownership, we will build personal mycelial maps from hypha to network and begin to assemble our disaster planning kits while we explore stories of maintaining community, tradition and heritage during migration and pressures of assimilation — reaching to ancestral tactics for survival, including caring for the inherited objects and practises we cherish today as keys to who we are, why we are and who we might become as future ancestors. Lets all bring our questions and our ideas and explore these notions together, lifting each other up, and leave feeling better resourced then when we began.
Image courtesy of Cait
Host bio:
Cait is a community organizer of Doukhobor decent working on stolen Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) lands, primarily in the Downtown Eastside. She studied Geography at SFU and serves as vice president of the Vancouver Mycological Society and chair of the Hives for Humanity board in addition to being a founding member of their Community Engagement Committee — a governance initiative that mushroomed out of an ongoing process exploring informed consent and ethical research in the Downtown Eastside.
Her embodied, land-based research praxis, Gentle Geographies, moves to build accountable relationships outside of domination and vision worlds without policing. Through this, she is curious about experiments in living: small studies in community that often consider the geographies of her utopian-commune-settler ancestors through a queer and neurodivergent lens. Cait is a weaver working with seeds and field recording – navigating overwhelm by slowly moving towards ecological restoration, coastal adaptation and counter mapping.
This is a paid guild with tiered pay-as-you-can tickets:
$108 – Sponsored Placement (SP)
$131 – Volunteer Supported (VS)
$152 – Community Patron (CP)
Subsidized spaces in this program are available thanks to the generous donations of EartHand community members. For more information about our pricing scale see this blog post.
5 virtual sessions, Saturdays 10-11:30am PST, Mar 5 & 19, Apr 9, May 14, Jun 11
and 3 trips to Barnston Island to be coordinated for lower mainland participants
1 flax seeding, 1 weeding, 1 harvest- visit dates TBC,( travel coordination and dates will be set at first virtual session)
For the cloth obsessed and the clothing-making curious.
This group is for fellow textile nerds interested in making their own garments or understanding the true value of cloth.
What are you wearing, how long have you owned it — what was its production journey — and what might it become next?
And — What are you making, where did that cloth come from; could you yourself weave it, knit it, spin it, dye it? How long might each step take? What might the miles of production in that commercial t-shirt be in comparison to the hours of making for a garment you could grow yourself?
Lets collectively consider which are the core garments we each can’t live without — how would you make that piece if you started from the raw fibre source? Lets dig deep into our closets; think about what we wear, what we buy, what we consume and level up our personal production game while building a better understanding of the true value of what hangs inside our wardrobes.
What steps in clothing production do you choose to outsource — where do you need others help and what next skill development is your focus?
This group will explore finding the answers to these questions and more as we each travel on our own lines of inquiry and making- finding ways of tracking our time or measuring the global footprint of favourite garments.
Each of us will be at our own place in this journey of knowing cloth and understanding our wardrobes. Let’s support each others’ process, and move collectively towards greater cloth literacy. Come with your hand work ready to engage in conversation as we learn and inspire each other and unpack our closets together.
This is a paid guild with tiered pay-as-you-can tickets:
$108- Sponsored Placement (SP)
$131- Volunteer Supported (VS)
$152- Community Patron (CP)
Subsidized spaces in this program are available thanks to the generous donations of EartHand community members. For more information about our pricing scale see this blog post.
Join us for a conversation of what the past year held and for a quick dip into the official business of our finances and election of Board of Directors! As per changes at last year’s AGM, voting members are those who held volunteer positions of responsibility and those paid as skill holders through the year. Regardless of whether you have a vote, we would love to have you present virtually!Get a ticket by Feb 11, then pour yourself a morning cup, grab your hand work and log on!
This mending guild is not about doing it the “right” way. It’s about trying new things, playing, and having fun as we repair our clothes and other textiles. Rather than subtlety and blending in, we encourage creativity and celebration of the mend!
We’ll share instructions and resources for a variety of mending techniques and focus on your specific questions. We’ll discuss how repair culture connects with our lives. All skill levels are welcome, beginner to advanced. Everyone has knowledge and experience to share and we look forward to a lively discussion and group learning environment.
A lifelong cyclist, Amy ‘Biker’ Walker delivers sociable arts activities by Makemobile, a cargo bike / studio. She wants to live in a world where we listen to each other’s stories as we darn each other’s socks. Visit makemobile.ca.
Image courtesy of Amy Walker
As a virtual series, Zoom and camera capability is required to participate.
This is a paid guild with tiered pay-as-you-can tickets:
$72 – Sponsored Placement (SP)
$87 – Volunteer Supported (VS)
$102 – Community Patron (CP)
Subsidized spaces in this program are available thanks to the generous donations of EartHand community members. For more information about our pricing scale see this blog post.
Join us online the last Monday of the month from January – November 2022, 7-8:30pm
11 virtual sessions: Jan 31, Feb 28, Mar 28, Apr 25, May 30, Jun 27, Jul 25, Aug 29, Sept 26, Oct 31, Nov 28
Join Jaymie Johnson (Nelson) and Sharon Kallis (Vancouver) to foster mindfulness for resilience by cultivating a creative practice of recording internal and external seasonal observations.
This year-long monthly guild will synthesize our collective learning from last year’s Seasonal Almanac guild with increased structure and guidance for participants. For this 2022 rendition, we will encourage creative record keeping to include seasonal observations alongside personal journaling with a focus on where we’re seeing, hearing and reading notes of resilience in the world around us, so that we can reflect back on this in the following years for future buoyancy.
Taking inspiration from Arzu Mistry and Todd Elkin’s Unfolding Practice: Accordion Book Project, we invite participants to deconstruct how they think about record keeping, journaling and collecting content.
A monthly practice of sharing our notes, drawings, and reflections on the resilience observed around and within us, provides an opportunity to inspire each other in both the mindfulness practice of observing our worlds and the creative practice of recording our observations in ways that are unique to each participant’s skills, interests, and needs.
“My background is not in the arts at all and it was a bit intimidating to meet this group of people who are so knowledgeable and creative. For me it has been an amazing opportunity to learn about everyone’s process of observation and how they document this process. It has been inspiring and I have learned a lot. It has taught me to look at things with a different purpose. Be more conscious about small details and think more about the extraordinary in the everyday.”
– Angeles Hernandez Correa, 2021 Seasonal Almanac participant
This is a paid drop-in program with individual tickets for each month – make sure to register separately for each date you plan to attend. We hope that many will be able to join for most of the sessions however this is not mandatory.
As a virtual series, Zoom and camera capability is required to participate.
Ticket prices per session:
$8 – Sponsored Placement (SP)
$14 – Volunteer Supported (VS)
$20 – Community Patron (CP)
Pay what you can – subsidized spaces in this program are available thanks to the generous donations of EartHand community members. For more information about our pricing scale see this blog post.
We are super excited to have Anna Heywood Jones and Meagan Innes joining us for garden time and studio explorations this year as our third year of having an Artists in Residence program that informs the direction of our land-based inquiry.
More information coming soon about the workshops, community skill-share sessions and many ways to get involved… but we promise it will be full of colour and fibre!
Meagan Innes is a Squamish woman, an educator and a multidisciplinary artist. Meagan completed her MEd around examining connection to place, kinship and to spéńem (plant) s7eḵw’í7tel (siblings) péńem (plant things). She is waking up her Ancestral skills by exploring reshaping pedagogy to embody traditional ways of knowing and being. She completed the First Nations Language Program at SFU and is a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim speaker. Meagan loves to work with her hands, utilizing traditional materials and objects to create cultural works that are utilized for their intended purposes. Her practice includes weaving with a variety of natural fibres, animal hides, and plant materials as dyes and pigments.
Anna Heywood-Jones is a visual artist and educator based in Vancouver on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations. Through her work, Heywood-Jones explores the complex relationship between human and botanical spheres, articulated through textile materials and processes. Additionally, her artistic practice is dedicated to exploring the slow loss of her father and the recent birth of her son. She holds an MFA degree from NSCAD University, a BFA degree from Emily Carr University and a diploma in Fibre Arts from Kootenay School of the Arts.
EartHand Gleaners works hard to provide low barrier, affordable and deeply impactful programming through our various skill development, artist residency and land-inquiry projects.
Over the last few years as our program offerings have grown, we made the decision not to increase program costs to pay for administration; but instead to dedicate any revenue into paying artists fees. This decision allows us to engage more artists in our Artists in Residence program. However maintaining affordable programming requires hours of administrative work and grant writing. Our core team does this work on an almost entirely volunteer basis.
Currently we are exploring moving towards a more sustainable model with paid administrative hours, while still continuing to honour and support the artists who lead our quality, affordable programs.
So, this year we are trying something different.
You will notice three different types of tickets/fees for EartHand paid programs:
Level One/Community Patron – this standard fee is for those participants who can afford the cost of providing the selected program. The fee covers: the artist/host fee, supports administration costs of the organization, a program coordinator and a few dollars towards the artist in residence fees for the following year.
Level Two/Volunteer Supported Placement– covers a portion of the artist/host fees, a nominal amount of administration costs and relies on volunteer administrative support.
Level Three/Sponsored Placement – covers a portion of the artist/host fee and is supported by other fundraising efforts and volunteer administration.
Our goal in piloting this fee structure is to provide equitable access to EartHand programs. Therefore if a program has 9 spaces, we will offer 3 spaces in each type of fee/ticket. We will be tracking our progress towards this goal during the pilot period. I look forward to hearing what you think and together we will see how this allocation works as a starting place.
Please pay as much you are able, this will allow us to get a better sense of what our overall membership can afford and aid in the making of budgetary decisions that keep us fiscally responsible while supporting those community members needing a financial break in order to participate.
Since starting EartHand as a small, arts-based non-profit, we have always been very rigorous and transparent in tracking where the money comes from and where it goes, but the volunteer time behind the scenes has been much more difficult to track.
As well, you may have noticed that over the past few years we have explored a variety of models to try and put the round pegs of stewardship and making-from-the-land, into the square holes of budget spreadsheets and annual reports. The intricacies of that exploration continues, as we now think ahead for EartHand and what succession could look like.
A Note from the Executive Director:
While I (Sharon Kallis) am not going anywhere soon, I am working to set EartHand Gleaners up for success in the future. The creation of EartHand and it’s continued stewardship has been an important aspect of my creative journey and I have been privileged to be able to spend many unpaid hours devoted to this work. However I would not expect this to be a sustainable model and I feel it is important to develop an organisational structure that supports fairly paid administrative workers in the future. As we explore and experiment with various financial models I will continue to seek funding opportunities to support our programs.
Meanwhile the Board Members and I want you all to know that we deeply appreciate the support from the program participants, volunteers and anonymous community members who make contributions – donations are always welcome as e-transfers to earthandgleaners(at)gmail.com and directly support artists fees for free programs as well as our stewardship projects.
EartHand Gleaners Society 