Humans have been making cordage for at least sixty thousand years. There are people with great skill and generosity who have kept these skills alive and have shared the learning. I am grateful to them. It is a joy to pass the skills on.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
AND EVENTS
ONLINE CORDAGE WORKSHOPS:
Being human disclaimer: Independently offering zoom workshops is new for me- there may be some technical glitches as I build my skills. I do promise however, that you will be able to learn the process of cordage during our time together. And I am always available to answer questions and help get you started again if you get stuck down the road. Classes are limited to twelve participants with sliding scale pricing to reflect the learning curve.
the last online workshops this year...
'Tis a Gift That is Simple...
Saturday, December 7th 9:00am-11:00am Pacific time.
Sunday December 8th 11:00am-1:00pm Pacific time
Do you have extra bits of fabric or worn out clothing? Create cordage gifts and garlands from materials that are readily on hand or found at a thrift store.
Contact me to register. Sliding Scale $20-$60
IN PERSON CORDAGE WORKSHOPS Winter 2025:
The Art of Hand Turned Cordage
Nimbus Arts, St. Helena, California
Have you ever noticed that string, yarn, twine, ropes, and cables are twisted? Humans have been making cordage for at least sixty thousand years. It has helped us shape our world and thrive in it. We twist fibers to create strength, length, and beauty. In this workshop we will learn the fundamentals of how to make cordage from beautiful silk and cotton fabrics - essentially turning them back into the threads from which they were formed. Folks will come away with a completed length of cord that can be worn as a necklace or hatband, as well as a basic understanding of how to turn other materials into meaningful and functional cordage. Cordage can be made with our hands as the only tools and is accessible even to those who would not consider themselves artists or crafty. The process is simple, meditative and our hands can hold the memory of the motion.
Saturday, January 11th, 10:00-12:00pm, ages 16+
$65 + $10-$20 materials fee
Register here with Nimbus Arts
Reconnecting Through Cordage
Nimbus Arts, St. Helena, California
Fabrics can hold special meaning - reminding us of people or times in our lives. By transforming the materials that we have held onto into beautiful lengths of cordage, we can reconnect to those we love. In this workshop folks are invited to bring meaningful fabrics to turn into cordage. Each fabric has its own personality. Come away with an understanding of how to apply the process to the other worn or sentimental fabrics in your life. This time together is an opportunity to create an object with your own hands that reflects a connection to those you love and to the ancient makers of cordage.
Saturday, February 1st, 10:00-1:00pm, ages 16+
$75 + $10 materials fee
Register here with Nimbus Arts
Available for Cordage Workshops in Person:
Please reach out if interested in working with me at my studio in Boonville, California or would like me to join you at your location.
CORDAGE AND CONVERSATION WORKSHOP
The ancient art of cordage using the fabrics in our lives- sharing in the joy and exploration.
Cordage is accessible even to those who would not consider themselves artists or crafty. The process is fun, simple, and repetitive in a way that leaves room for conversation, laughter, contemplation. Cordage making is accessible to folks who would not consider themselves crafty as well as to artists wanting to explore another way of engaging with materials.
Perhaps there is fabric in your life that is dear to you that no longer serves in its current form. This workshop is an invitation to explore this ancient process and the share in conversations as our hands find the rhythm of the making. Come away with an understanding of how to turn materials in your life into beautiful and useful lengths of cord, whether to wrap a gift, hang as a garland or wear as a necklace.
CORDAGE AND CONNECTION WORKSHOP
A celebration of togetherness- cordage necklaces and garlands from personally meaningful fabrics.
We are in this life together. Relationships and connections have the power to bring joy and meaning to our lives. Making cordage from fabrics that represent those we love, and even with those we love, offers an opportunity to create an object that is imbued with intention. Fabrics from two people can be twined together; a piece of clothing from a loved one can be turned into a necklace, fabric from our own past can be transformed- creating a blessing for a birth or marriage, a celebration for a coming of age, an honoring of family, a wish for what could be and gratitude for what has been, a marking of life’s transitions.
Celebrate the relationships you value in your life, whether given as a gift or kept close to your own heart with cordage, essentially two strands twisted individually in one direction and brought together in the opposite direction- dynamic and strong.
CORDAGE AS GRIEF WORK - WORKSHOP AND CONVERSATION
An opportunity to create a cord from fabrics that we hold dear and share in conversation
So many of us have pieces of clothing or bits of fabric that are in some way significant that we hold onto year after year. For some it is a father's t-shirt after he died, or a scarf from a distant sister. Sometimes we hold on because we don't know how to let go.
Objects can remind us of those we love and of specific times in our life. They can represent who we were or wish to be. By taking fabrics that hold memory and transforming them into meaningful lengths of twine that can be worn or used, we can bring a new joy and explore the beauty, the heartache, the grief, the acceptance of what it is to be human- we transform the object and invite ourselves to do the same.
Join together in transforming fabrics that are sentimental and dear and share in the conversation and mutual curiosity around grief and letting go- honoring our journey and those we have loved.
CUSTOM OFFERING
Connecting the art of cordage to what is meaningful in our lives and community.
Cordage is an ancient and fundamental process that humans have used to shape the world for tens of thousands of years. In its simplicity, the process invites an exploration of various themes, metaphors, and questions. In learning to make cordage, focus and attention can be brought to specific inquiries; conversations can be shaped to explore the coming together, the tearing apart, the mirrored structure of our dna, the joys and the struggles of this life. Cords have been a part of rituals and religious ceremonies for centuries. We are brought into this world connected by a cord and cords make possible the digital technology of our time.
It would be an honor to create a custom cordage offering for your circle, community or workplace.
