Wild Weaving

By Mel Evans

In some of our sessions last year we had so much fun creating great big sculptures using hazel rods, wool and flowers. I have been daydreaming about the beautiful structures the children created, while making my own structures for my beans and peas to climb this Summer. I have shared some pictures below, but their true beauty is very difficult to capture on camera. Some of them would not look out of place at a wedding!

There is something nice about creating something of size so we facilitated this by setting up a few large hazel structures before the session. However, some of the children were keen to start the process at the very beginning and found their own small sticks in the woods. Some of the most beautiful structures were very small, and starting from the beginning helped some of the children find meaning in the activity.

This means the activity can be done on whatever scale is realistic and appealing to you at home. The idea is very simple. Three sticks are tied at the top and pushed into the ground, or a plant pot to secure them. Different colour yarn is then wrapped around the sticks. Finally leaves, flowers and natural materials are woven between the yarn.

Weaving has a lovely grounding and relaxing effect on our bodies. The textures and smells of the natural materials offers a wonderful sensory experience. This is ‘Ephemeral Art’ and although the finished products are beautiful for a while, they will not last forever. The transient nature of the art means its easier to focus on process and enjoy the activity without getting too hung up on the end result.

If you do this activity in a natural area it is important to remove the structures after as birds can get caught up in the wool as they break down. I was keen to make this ephemeral art last a little bit longer so we have made some in buckets in our garden and have planted sweet peas around the base. Now we just have to be patient to see the end result.