willows and Our Rivers 4:

Willow, MISSISSIPPI RIVER

Saturday, October 10: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

MEETS OFFSITE at Boom Island Park

724 Sibley St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413

This session of Willows and our Rivers will take place at Boom Island Park, where we will begin with a guided tour from landscape architect Torey and public historian Jessie. We will dive into the histories of extraction, movement, and displacement along the river, making our own maps as we process along. We will visit willow stands along the way, discuss what we observe about willows’ role here at Boom Island, touching on respectful harvest and propagation along riverbeds.

Following our tour, we will gather at the park facility to reflect in conversation about placemaking and map-making. We will conclude with practice weaving willow trays and ropes! 

This workshop is part of a continuing Willows and Our Rivers series; you can register for any or all of the classes.

  • In this offsite class at Boom Island Park, we will dive into the histories of extraction, movement, and displacement along the Mississippi, visit willow stands and practice weaving willow trays and ropes.

  • We will be walking for the first 1.5 hours of class on sand, paved road, and gravel. Please contact bozena for specific details about the route of our walk or with any additional accessibility questions: bozena.scheidel@gmail.com

    CENTER FOR PEOPLE AND CRAFT is committed to building a diverse, inclusive learning community where people of all backgrounds feel welcome and able to participate. As we launch our first workshop series, we are dedicating space in each class for reduced-tuition scholarships to support anyone facing financial barriers. As we build a more robust scholarship program, we hope this initial launch will remove barriers and expand access to hands-on learning for all.

    Anyone with financial need is encouraged to apply for a half-tuition scholarship. To be considered, please submit a brief online application. Please note that CENTER FOR PEOPLE AND CRAFT is operating with limited financial resources and an entirely volunteer staff. Therefore, we cannot guarantee a spot for every applicant. Each class has one scholarship slot available. Applicants who are not selected in this current round are welcome to reapply.  Apply here

  • CPC is able to provide refunds up to two weeks before the start date of the class for which the registration was submitted, though we do retain a $20 fee for return payment processing. If you need to cancel your class within the two week window, a refund is not guaranteed, but will be considered based on several factors.

    If CPC needs to cancel a class due to low enrollment, teacher illness, or other factors, you will receive a full refund. Read our full set of policies.

meet your instructors

Bozena Scheidel lives in Minneapolis. She weaves willow baskets and is interested in developing relationships to places where willows grow: floodplains, wetlands, lakeshores, ditches and farms. She is excited about the ways handwork informs practices of care and ecological restoration. She works in childcare and construction and plays fiddle.

Torey Erin is a Minneapolis based interdisciplinary artist primarily working in moving image, social practice, ecology, and land art. Torey’s work amplifies environmental phenomena to create places where people may share their stories and co-create new art works. She has created living participatory land artworks at Rabanus Park World Garden, Silverwood Park, and Franconia Sculpture Park. She proposes ways of re-imagining material approaches to art and landscape that serve human and non-human life, focusing on environmental change, empathy and relationality.

Jessie Merriam is a printmaker and public historian interested in land use history and biodiversity education.She works with Minneapolis LTER(Long-Term Ecological Restoration), Our Streets MN, West Bank Community Archive project, and Fireweed Community Woodshop.