“Penny Hewitt runs a great class,” Curtis Buchanan told me after traveling to Vermont to make a pack basket with her. “She’s personable and laid-back, and she knows her stuff. You should have her teach at your shop.”
A couple weeks ago, Penny emailed me, asking to do just that. I’m delighted to have her. Black ash baskets have interested me since I set up a booth in Jamin Uticone’s tent at a local music festival twenty years ago. I was demonstrating turning; he was beating on a log with a hammer. Crowds gathered around him like moths to a flame, drawn by the steady rhythmic sounds of his sledge. He peeled the log apart growth-ring by growth-ring, then spent hours scraping the material to a smooth and supple perfection. He and I were working the same material – ring-porous hardwood – but our understanding and use of the material couldn’t have been more different. I was splitting the log like firewood; he was de-laminating it year-by-year. I was carving it to shape while he was weaving it like cloth.
These days, ash is on the road to extinction, taking this ancient craft with it. Learn how before it’s too late:
Make your own basket and learn one of the oldest crafts in human history. For thousands of years baskets served as indispensable objects in every culture. Carry on the tradition and take home a beautiful, durable and useful basket crafted from responsibly harvested, hand pounded black ash logs. In this two day workshop, you will weave a traditional Adirondack-style pack basket with cedar runners and base and adjustable webbing harness. This roughly 18” tall basket is made to last and be used.
February 22nd and 23rd, 2025 – $550 (visit the class page for more info).
