Cast-off creations

PALMER — Combine an appreciation for nature, an interest in efficient consumption of resources and a desire for a happy home, and the motivations for attending this weekend’s birch bark workshops take shape like a birch star ornament.

The workshops, presented by former Alaskan John Zasada at UAF’s Palmer Center for Sustainable Living at the Matanuska Experiment Farm, tested the creativity and concentration of participants.

On Friday, they made birch bark ornaments. On Saturday, those attending — some repeating from Friday and some many new participants — made birch baskets.

The participants said it was fun, but they didn’t say it was easy.

“If I pull it the right direction, it comes out the right end,” said Beth Hall, chiding herself as she attempted a birch star ornament. “Yours is so much better than mine.”

A few minutes later, it was Hall helping another participant with her star.

Deb Waisanen of Wasilla was having trouble. She laid her star down to have lunch, and she wasn’t sure which was the right side and which was the wrong.

“After my last one unraveled, I don’t know,” said Sally Harvey of Palmer, diligently working to create another star.

Despite the frustrations of learning a new craft, the participants said they were enjoying Friday’s workshop.

“I’ve been dying to have this class for a long time,” Waisanen said.

She said she loves the birch work she’s seen done by Alaska Natives, she has lots of raw material at her disposal. She is convinced the $50 fee for each day was money well spent.

“My VISA bill will be better,” Waisanen said. “I’m not in a craft store. My husband will be thrilled.”

Other motivations, including Waisanen’s, centered more on the birch itself — using a readily available and often overlooked resource.

Randi Hirschmann of Wasilla said she loves wood and working with her hands.

“You look around in the Valley and see all the trees being burned or buried and it kills me to see the wood not being used,” Hirschmann said. “The bark is a whole new realm.”

Instructor Zasada, a Minnesota native who is back living in his home state, in Grand Rapids, learned his craft at the North House Folk School. The skills he teaches are based in northern European cultures. It’s about weaving strips of wood, where most Native crafts are about shaping and sewing the bark, he said.

“To me, it’s about how people use and appreciate the forest,” said Zasada, who retired after 40 years as a forester with the U.S. Forest Service. “I just came to feel a lot of material goes unused.

“It’s not just about making stuff for me,” Zasada added. “It’s about thinking about the forest in a broader sense.”

That’s why Karen Mannix took the class. She will use the experience as part of a broad-spectrum forestry project at Talkeenta Elementary.

“We’re trying to establish an appreciation of the environment where the kids live,” Mannix said.

Kathy Kalal of Anchorage and Trapper Creek was slated to attend class Friday and Saturday. She said she likes the very Alaska crafts and already has plans for her birch handiwork.

“I’ll probably make ornaments for all of my relatives and send them out of state,” Kalal said. And who will get her finest work? “The best one always goes to my mother-in-law. She takes care of me.”