In the era of wooden boats and iron men “chafing mats” were woven out of repurposed fishing line and placed on the wooden decks in high traffic areas to reduce wear and tear on the wooden deck. I learned how to craft them when I worked on the Barracuda, fishing out of Astoria in 1973. I conduct workshops around the area and welcome Eager Beaver Weavers to my studio in Svensen. All the repurposed line is from the commercial fishing fleet of crabbers and long liners fishing in the Pacific ocean and serves as the connection between the incredible bounty of our ocean and the hardworking hands that harvest it each year. The line is imbued with great fish karma.
The workshop will be on July 30th from 10:00am to 1:00pm at the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum in Cannon Beach.
Workshop requirements:
-be able to stand and move around for several hours
-neatly trimmed fingernails
-the ability to hammer a nail straight without hitting your thumb
-spatial intelligence
-concentration
-a certain amount of obsessive/compulsive DNA
-pride in one’s craft
Materials Included!