ARTIST RESIDENCY 2019

In the summer/fall of 2019 I had the wonderful opportunity to teach workshops at Montessori of Lake Forest. I taught students ages 6-12 y/o how to identify, harvest, and weave the cattail plant into a mat. I started by having the kids help me harvest the bountiful plant on the schools large prairie covered land. I taught the kids exciting facts about the cattail plant, including: when and how to harvest, what you can eat from the plant, useful everyday objects you can manufacture from the plant, and how to make sure you are harvesting the plant ethically and safely.

After we properly identified and harvested the plant, we moved on to drying the leafs. To efficiently dry the leafs, I had the students lay each leaf out on a tarp in full sun. I informed them the amount of time it would take till we would be able to rehydrate and weave the leafs into a mat. A few weeks later I came back to the school to pick out the best leafs for the students. I cut each leaf to the correct length and prepped for weaving.

Students had the option to sign up for the final after school weaving workshop. Those who attended the mat weaving workshop were able to bring home their very own cattail mat that they made themself! The Students were enthusiastic about each one of the workshops. Each student left with new life skills that they can intertwine into their future.