Ōtepoti Dunedin: Tī Kōuka and Hazel Hand Brush - 21 October, 9am-2pm

Come along this Labour Weekend and learn how to make a hand brush with Gemma Stratton. Workshops will be held at the O Block Hub at Dunedin School of Art Otago Polytechnic on Anzac Ave (entrance beside the Anzac Ave Bridge, parking is available in Minerva street opposite). More detailed information will be provided prior to the workshop.

This workshop will show you how to make a hand brush using locally sourced resources: tī kōuka (cabbage tree) leaves and hazel wood. The brush can be used for all sorts of jobs – from the workshop bench to the kitchen floor. Techniques and skills that will be covered during the course of the class include cord-making using our tī kōuka string-making technique and fibre preparation.

We will be using tī kōuka (cabbage tree) leaves in this workshop as these are such an abundant and multi-purpose material that we can find all around us. If you have access to fallen tī kōuka (cabbage tree) leaves, please do bring in as big a bundle as you can! If not, don’t worry - we have enough for you to use, but are always happy to receive more of this valuable resource.

Our wonderful local volunteers will collect and soak these for us. The techniques taught in this workshop originate in Europe and the UK. To learn more about tī kōuka and how we work with it, click HERE.

Now based in Te Tai o Aorere/Tasman, Gemma Stratton has been a resident craftsperson at Rekindle. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Canterbury School of Fine Arts, and weaves her long-held dedication to resourcefulness into everything she touches. Gemma’s time in the Rekindle workshop developing brushes and lightshades was funded by Creative New Zealand.

Gemma has taught a variety of workshops using tī kōuka (cabbage tree) leaves within our resourceful skills workshop programme.  
  @g.m.stratton