Environmental artist Sharon Kallis subscribes to a "one-mile-diet" approach to sourcing her art supplies. It's a hyper-local vision that has seen her weave shoes from plant stalks, grow flax and spin it into linen, and weave rope from nettle fibres. Equally important to her practice is bringing community together through shared skills and hand-work.
At Trillium Park, on the edge of Strathcona, surrounded by meadows of native plants, Kallis, along with other local skill-holders, teaches environmental art workshops through EartHand Gleaners. Participants learn how to make things from the world around them, and to slow down and observe the beauty of collective creation.
When Kallis and her friend, weaving partner and fellow workshop instructor Rebecca Graham, sat down one evening last winter to mull over their latest inspirations, they hit upon an idea as organic as the materials they work with: a weaving wagon. It would be built onto the back of an electric bike, with a hand-sewn canopy, and used to carry materials and host workshops, functioning as a pop-up art studio.
"The idea of an environmental artist arriving to teach by car doesn't fit my principles or way of seeing the world," says Kallis. Although she hauled many of her materials by bike, she was often overburdened. A bicycle-powered wagon was an elegant solution. With funding from the BC Arts Council through an Artist's Production grant, and the Vancouver Park Board's Arts, Culture and Environment Department, the weaving wagon project got underway.
Last week, the weaving wagon became a reality. Under the tutelage of master willow weaver Alistair Heseltine, a dream team was assembled: Kallis, Graham, and Heseltine wove local willow; Geoff Hibbard, of Shift Urban Delivery, a bike design specialist with a background in engineering, was instrumental in ensuring that design and construction went smoothly; and Martin Borden, a filmmaker and artist, with a mechanical aptitude that proved handy, filmed the process for a documentary, and helped with fittings.
Kallis is delighted with the results. "I'm amazed at how well it's made, beyond my wildest dreams, a beautiful melding of many people's skills and knowledge," she says.
Built from aluminum tubing, the frame incorporates a recycled street signage base and fenders. Bicycle spokes were used for hooks, and willow from Heseltine's property was used for the cart. The sideboards pop down to make tables, and the wagon will also house fibre samples and educational text.
Even the waxed roof covering has been up-cycled, using strips of Abeego, an environmentally friendly beeswax food wrap produced in Victoria. The company has partnered with EartHand Gleaners to donate the sweepings from their factory floor.
"We wanted the cart itself to draw attention to the skills taught and the natural aesthetic," Kallis says. "The mode of arrival speaks to action." And people who see it around the city are made aware of the intersection between the urban and the rural, and the potential for creation and engagement.
The cart has already seen action at various local events, transportIng multiple loads of harvested materials. "The city seems smaller," Kallis notes. The electric assist on the bike means hills are a breeze, and the cart weighs under 50 pounds, greatly "expanding the range of travel for teaching."
Booked for numerous summer events, festivals, and community weaving gigs across the city, the wagon will be used to host demonstrations and talks, from rope making and slow clothing to fish leather, and linen processing.
As Kallis puts it, "It has already changed my thinking. I'm slowing down and rediscovering my local environment. It's about the journey."
Amy Logan is a Vancouver writer, editor and English instructor with an ear for trends in the arts, community and environment. She is a regular contributor to Metro News, and joins the Westender family for the summer to explore the artists, creatives, environmentalists and adventurers who make Vancouver tick.
