Penny weaves a basket, letting her future materials soak for pliability
“Learning utilitarian skills can point to alternative ways of shaping a culture that fosters land, tradition, and community stewardship.”
- Penny Hewitt
This month, Penny will be teaching her popular birch bark ornament class at Red Wagon Saturday, November 22, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Click here to learn more and register!
Penny Hewitt is passionate about revitalizing and sharing traditional skills, particularly in the form of black ash and bark basketry. As a homeschooling mom, craftsperson and homesteader, among other things, she practices her craft for income, pleasure and to meet the needs of her homesteading life.
In an effort to deepen her connection to the land and limit her participation in consumer culture, she strives to grow, craft and participate in seasonal harvests for as many of her needs and wants as possible. Her baskets are made from hand-harvested resources from local forests, and let the qualities of varying materials dictate their use.
Penny is inspired by the traditions of many cultures, and is grateful for the opportunities of connection to the land and people, past and present, that her craft cultivates. She also appreciates the generous community of talented makers and growers with whom she trades skills, ideas and wares.
As a teacher, she enjoys “teaching people how to use their hands and simple tools to transform natural materials from the surrounding forests into objects of beauty that are useful in everyday life”
You can find her teaching children and adults all over Vermont and beyond; in private homes, on farms, at her studio in the Northeast Kingdom, at art centers and traditional skills schools and gatherings.
Penny Hewitt’s birch bark ornament making class will be happening at Red Wagon Saturday, November 22, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Click here to sign up!
