Date and Time: Saturday, June 22, 2024. 10 AM – 4 PM Pacific time. Lunch Break: 12-1pm
Location: Multnomah Arts Center (7688 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219), Room 39
Number of students: 15
Cost: $ 37 ($12 class fee + $25 materials fee). Materials include a palm-sized selenite stone, stones to practice on, and waxed linen. Materials will be provided in class.
Instructor: Rose Covert
Student skill level: All levels are welcome, CBBG members only.
What students will need: Large-eye needle. You may also bring your own rocks to use.
Description: What is it about rocks that make us want to hold them? Why do any of us find one thing more lovely than the next? Stone netting is a chance to work with your own intuitive aesthetic, while also learning an ancient weaving technique.
In this class we will begin by working on a beach stone, to give us a chance to practice and experiment with the technique; we will finish by working with a palm-sized polished selenite stone. These stunning rocks really showcase the pattern we will be weaving, and they make a beautiful, finished piece. We will be learning a technique called knotless netting to weave a net around our stones.
As with most weaving, knotless netting is a lot of repetition. You will have time to practice and get comfortable with the technique, as well as a chance to design your piece as you go. We will talk about some of the ways knotless netting has been used traditionally, and, through learning this skill, spend some time connected to this lineage of human endeavor. You will have time to weave between 3-5 stones. You are welcome to bring rocks with you that you would like to work with. Beach stones will also be available to work with, and everyone will get a palm-sized polished selenite stone for their final piece.
To reserve your space, register below by clicking “Add to Cart.” Guild members only, please. If you are not a member of the Guild, but would like to become one, click here.
The last day to register is June 15, 2024. If the class fills, and you would like to put your name on the waitlist, please email ColumbiaBasinBasketryGuild@gmail.com
Class sample of stone with netting.
About Your Instructor
Rose Covert uses natural materials to weave sculptural forms. Using reimagined basketry techniques, Rose creates woven landscapes that twist and travel around themselves. Her work is evocative of the natural world they are created from. She is also a fiber arts weaver who uses traditional basketry techniques and ethical harvest practices to hand harvest and process the materials she uses. Her work holds an element of dance and movement in their shapes and pulls the viewer in with their dynamic tensions.
Rose grew up in Colorado but has been living in the Pacific Northwest for most of her adult life. She is a longtime Portland resident who has fallen in love with the rich plant life that grows here. Rose works entirely with plants that grow within a 60-mile radius of her home, some of her work consists of plants she grows herself and the rest are from plants she either tends or harvests from on a regular basis. She finds inspiration in the natural world, the exquisiteness of elemental forms and landscapes, as well as the habitats the plants grow in. Her work is a continuation of the beauty of the natural world; her work allows us to bring the allure of nature into our homes. Rose’s process begins with planting or harvesting the plants her sculptures are made from and ends in exploration and design as she weaves the forms.
Rose has been a member and board member of the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild since 2014. She has learned and continues to learn a wide range of weaving techniques and practices through her participation with the Guild. She is also a weaving instructor and teaches youth and adults through her involvement with a variety of organizations, including Wildcraft, Rewild Portland, Oregon Flock and Fiber and the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild.