Monday to Sunday, July 28 - August 3, 2025, 9am-5pm each day

Organized through Eric Cannizzaro. More info and registration here. $1600 combined class fee.

In this class students will use just a few hand tools to make a greenwood ladderback chair in the style of Jennie Alexander (Make A Chair From a Tree, 1978). Starting with an ash or oak log, we will spend the first three days working together to split, shave, and bend enough chair parts for everyone.

On day four, we will put our chair parts aside to dry and spend two days weaving willow baskets. We will learn and practice traditional weaving techniques while creating beautiful and functional harvesting baskets. Students will also learn about the cultivation and processing of this historically important natural material. Our baskets will be built from a round base with weaves mostly in the European tradition, including pairing, waling, randing and woven borders. Every student’s basket will be different! This class is suitable for beginners wanting to learn a base of weaving knowledge or intermediate weavers looking to improve skills and control. Care and use of finished pieces will be discussed in class. Willow is a stronger more tension-y material than many other basketry materials, strong hands are a must for this course.

The last two days of class will be spent back at the workbench and shaving horse, final shaping and assembling our chairs. This class is a lot of work and a lot of fun, and offers a unique opportunity to build skills with a few core tools. Seat weaving will be demonstrated in class and resources will provided for students to weave  at home.