Birch Bark Work

 

 

Birch bark is tough, flexible and waterproof, so it was important to First Nations.  It was used for everything from canoe-making to making baskets, artwork, and maps.  Birch bark is not a simple material to work with, I found.  But the product is abundant, free and it is very much part of culture.  The birch tree naturally sheds its bark.  And, most importantly, the bark decides what is going to work and what is not.  There is nothing perfect about things made with Birch Bark.  It decides shape and form.

 

When working with the Birch Bark I have, it is bark that comes off the great rounds of wood that was cut for firewood.  I went along and gathered up all the loose bark and all the bark I could peel off the logs that I could.  Any shaping has to be done when the bark is warmed, or soaked in hot water, then, weighted down, or pressed in vise.  

 

 

 

 

I will be doing a few more birch motivated things.

©Carol Desjarlais 3.14.24