WildCraft West: our Portland OR studio opened in March 2016. This 3000 sq ft space is also the showroom & shop of Fieldwork Design & Architecture. WildCraft West offers 4-week evening courses and weekend workshops in contemporary craft skills, traditional textile practices and fresh perspectives on art-school classics. If you’d like to stop by the studio, please do so on weekends between 11am-3pm.
WildCraft West 601 SE Hawthorne Blvd Portland, OR
Classes at Portland Studio:
Weaving with a Natural Palette
Friday July 17, 2020 - Sunday July 19, 2020
Weaver Megan Mesloh leads students through the process of natural dyeing and weaving for this 2.5-day Natural Dye + Weaving intensive!
Moku-hanga: Traditional Japanese Woodblock Printing
Saturday July 18, 2020 - Sunday July 19, 2020
Students will learn the proper use of traditional tools and materials, carving, basic registration, and vocabulary associated with moku-hanga printing.
Post & Rung Stool Building (July)
Friday July 24, 2020 - Sunday July 26, 2020
In this class, students will build a post-and-rung stool out of sustainably harvested Oregon White Oak.
Mama and Child Natural Dyes!
Saturday July 25, 2020
We’re celebrating the sweetest holiday of the year: Mother’s Day with a super special Mama & Child natural dye class!
Textile Marbling (July)
Sunday July 26, 2020
Swirling patterns, organic shapes and natural formations: marbling offers a playful, no-pressure approach to textile surface design.
Students will learn how to harvest, process, and weave Himalayan Blackberry skins for both cordage and basket weaving.
Hand Carved Rings: Wax to Bronze & Silver
Sunday August 16, 2020
Beginning with a piece of jeweler’s wax, students will learn to carve, melt, drill & saw, forming a custom and uniquely shaped ring.
Sashiko Japanese Mending
Saturday August 22, 2020
Used for centuries by rural people in Japan to mend and repair clothing, Sashiko evolved into a decorative yet thrifty way to reuse and recycle fabric.
Wooden Spoon Carving (Aug)
Sunday August 23, 2020
Learn how to select an ideal wood for carving, how to use simple hand-carving tools to create a handsome and useful spoon.
Japanese Natural Dyes
Sunday August 23, 2020
Ai (indigo), beni (safflower), akane (madder), and murasaki (alkanet) are among some of the quintessential Japanese dye plants we will cover in this class.
Adirondack Pack-Basket Weaving (Aug)
Saturday August 29, 2020 - Sunday August 30, 2020
Learn to weaving an Adirondack pack-basket in this 2-day intensive.
Summer Color: Natural Dyes of Portland (August)
Saturday August 29, 2020
Portland is in full bloom this time of year, and with a bright array of dye plants at our finger-tips to use as natural dyes.
In this class, students will gain in-depth experience in textile patterning with resist methods and traditional Japanese patterning techniques.
Woven Rag Rugs
Saturday September 05, 2020 - Sunday September 06, 2020
Repurposed materials from sheets and clothing will be the basis of students’ exploration in texture, color, and shape-making using tapestry techniques.
Collagraph Printmaking: Construction & Printing (4-week)
Tuesday September 08, 2020 - Tuesday September 29, 2020
Join us in building and printing collagraph plates by adhering commonplace materials to a rigid surface to create a collage that can be inked and printed.
Moku-hanga: Traditional Japanese Woodblock Printing (4-week)
Wednesday September 09, 2020 - Wednesday September 30, 2020
Students will learn the proper use of traditional tools and materials, carving, basic registration, and vocabulary associated with moku-hanga printing.
Introduction to Oil Painting (4-week)
Thursday September 10, 2020 - Thursday October 01, 2020
This four week intensive course, taught by Rachel Warkentin, teaches a gentler, less toxic approach to oil painting.
Screen Printing with Natural Dyes
Saturday September 12, 2020
Join us for a full-day intensive focused on the art of printing with natural dyes.
Wild Foods Cooking & Preservation
Sunday September 13, 2020
Learn to utilize invasive and in season plants to make gourmet meals, nutritional additives, and medicinal teas and infusions with Lorelle Sherman.
Hand-Drawn Repeats: Pattern Design
Sunday September 13, 2020
Students will explore patterns using different scales, line weights, and a variety of other design elements to achieve one-of-a-kind repeat patterns.
Carving Wooden Wares: 4-Week Intensive
Monday September 14, 2020 - Monday October 05, 2020
Transform a freshly cut log or branch into beautiful hand-carved household utensils, like chopsticks, spreaders, and spoons.
Evening Weaving Intensive
Monday September 14, 2020 - Monday October 05, 2020
In this 4-week intensive, you will learn how to the basics of weaving on a table-top rigid heddle loom.
Post & Rung Stool Building (Sept)
Friday September 18, 2020 - Sunday September 20, 2020
In this class, students will build a post-and-rung stool out of sustainably harvested Oregon White Oak.
Traditional Egg Tempera Paint Making & Technique
Saturday September 19, 2020
In this in-depth workshop by artist Rachel Warkentin, students will prepare two recipes for egg tempera using entirely natural materials.
Beginning Basketry
Sunday September 20, 2020 - Sunday September 20, 2020
In this beginning basketry class, students will explore fundamental plaiting and twining techniques to create a small woven vessel.
Woven Beaded Rings
Saturday September 26, 2020
The workshop will cover simple patterns in traditional flat weave one-bead netting, as well as finishing techniques and material options.
Willow Basket Weaving
Saturday September 26, 2020 - Sunday September 27, 2020
Join us in this hands-on class to learn the basics of willow basketry, using locally grown and wildcrafted materials.
Crochet Rag Rugs
Sunday September 27, 2020
In this class, Tania will show you how to crochet a circular, oval, or rectangular rug using a big crochet hook and "yarn" made from scrap fabric.
Fall Color: Natural Dyes of Portland (Oct)
Saturday October 03, 2020
Join us and learn how to dye with native and invasive dye plants of the Portland, Oregon region!
Wooden Spoon Carving (Oct)
Sunday October 04, 2020
Learn how to select an ideal wood for carving, how to use simple hand-carving tools to create a handsome and useful spoon.
Family Natural Dyes!
Sunday October 04, 2020
All the steps of natural dyeing will be covered, with lots of hands-on time spent processing non-toxic plants, herbs and flowers.
Columbia Plateau Beading
Saturday October 10, 2020 - Sunday October 11, 2020
Students will work on a beautiful medallion while learning the history of beads in the Columbia plateau.
Textile Marbling (Oct)
Sunday October 11, 2020
Swirling patterns, organic shapes and natural formations: marbling offers a playful, no-pressure approach to textile surface design.
Katazome Indigo Resist
Saturday October 17, 2020 - Sunday October 18, 2020
Katazome is a centuries-old Japanese dyeing technique in which artists create a resist paste and apply it to cloth using hand-carved stencils.
Leatherworking Basics
Sunday October 18, 2020
Students will learn to make a wallet, pouch, or small bag from start to finish, and gain an understanding of construction, hardware, and finishes.
Embroidered Text: Monograms & Inscriptions
Friday October 23, 2020
In this workshop we will explore monograms, signatures, inscriptions, writing from folk textiles around the world and fine art.
Adirondack Pack-Basket Weaving (Oct)
Saturday October 24, 2020 - Sunday October 25, 2020
Learn to weaving an Adirondack pack-basket in this 2-day intensive.
Hungarian Written Embroidery
Saturday October 24, 2020
Learn the basic stitches of Hungarian written embroidery, a folk style that originated in Transylvania, Romania in the late 18th Century.
Embroidered Flowers of Portugal
Sunday October 25, 2020
This workshop will teach several basic embroidery stitches used in traditional clothing from Northern Portugal dating back to the 1700s.
Basket Weaving: Natural Material Fiber Exploration
Saturday October 31, 2020 - Sunday November 01, 2020
Explore structural design and weaving techniques to create unique, personalized baskets with a wide variety of plant materials.
Big Baskets: Weaving with Reed (Nov)
Saturday November 07, 2020 - Sunday November 08, 2020
Explore structural design and plaited weaving techniques to create unique, large baskets.
Sculptural Crochet: Lichen Forms
Saturday November 07, 2020
In this workshop, students will learn the basic stitches and techniques of crochet and begin creating a wall-hanging inspired by PNW lichen.
Contemporary Hand Quilting
Sunday November 08, 2020
Students will design and hand sew their own contemporary quilted piece, but don’t let your mind stop at quilt squares!
Introduction to Papercutting
Saturday November 14, 2020
Learn how to prepare natural pigments and plant materials for botanical ink-making.
Advanced Juncus Weaving
Saturday November 14, 2020 - Sunday November 15, 2020
In this class, each student will learn a traditional basket “start” in different variations, working on fine-tuning their weaving skills.
Pigments of Place: Natural Paint Making
Sunday November 15, 2020
This class is an invitation to connect with the land and its colors by learning to make paint with a rainbow of different iron ore-based earths and rock.
Winter Color: Natural Dyes of Portland
Saturday November 21, 2020
This workshop leads students through all the steps of dying with fresh and dried plants, with a special focus on flowers, berries and roots.
Woven Leather Baskets (Nov)
Sunday November 22, 2020
Students will learn how to transform leather into beautiful usable objects through measuring and cutting strips to weave together into a 3D form!
Winter Wreath Making
Saturday November 28, 2020
This workshop goes beyond the basics of wreath construction, to share the art of thoughtful and sustainable design with farmer and florist Chelsea Willis.
Swedish Dala Horse Carving
Sunday November 29, 2020
In this seasonal workshop, students will learn Scandinavian flat-plane figure carving techniques as we work on our own dala-inspired horses.
