Tag Archives: #GiftsInnBoonsBoro

Pine Needle Basket Making Workshop with Sarah Soltow

Welcome to the World of Pine Needle Basketry!

October 14th & 15th, 2023

Join Artist, Sarah Soltow for a 2-day workshop learning the art and magic of these creations.

“When life gives you pine needles….”

Sarah, originally from Shepherdstown, WV, moved to Richmond, VA after a stint in Arizona. Surrounded again by green trees, then experiencing the pandemic lock down, she turned her creative urges to making pine needle baskets using indigenous and endangered Longleaf Pine needles from a tree on her property.

Her love for natural objects, for sewing, and for creative pursuit came together in the perfect storm to master the ancient craft of basket making, using the bounty of her tree. Soon she was designing, creating, and offering her exquisite little artisan baskets for sale.

Teaching others was the natural next step.

All material tools and supplies are included in the fee. Eight participants will make a basket to take home. This 2-Day workshop will be held at the Inn of Boonsboro From 10am – 3pm and will include refreshments. Fee:$125….

Limited Space Available (8 Seats)

 

When the Camera’s Close at Hand

Laura Reeth has made her mark in the shop and the Inn with her photographs, which run the gamut from hauntingly beautiful to surprising and cheerful. We’re thrilled to have corralled her long enough to put together an exhibit for us, titled When the Camera’s Close at Hand, on display from October 30 through November 29.

Laura shares, “Is a walk a walk without a camera? For me, a camera is my personal filter to express what I see, even in the routine and the familiar.

Over the last decade, it’s a rare day I set out on a morning walk without at least a smartphone in hand to capture what I see along the way.  I prefer to walk just after sunrise when the world is quiet yet still brimming with anticipation, moving along regular routes, almost without thought.  Actually, that’s not true – I put some thought into the daily decisions:  go right or left?  Toward the sun or away?  Busy street or quiet park?  Each answer partially dictates where I go or what I see.

Seasons and light and flowers and trees change, but my feet remember the routes and my eyes seek out something new in the familiar.  Are there clouds or is the sun a stark, singular light?  Is there reflection?  How does the light affect it? Those questions bundle themselves up tightly until they are part of the instinctive awareness of my surroundings. No concrete answer, just a looking, a seeking, then lifting the camera to capture.  Some days the image is exactly what I saw.  Some days I return home and there’s a surprise in the photo, a nuance that only comes forward with quiet contemplation.

I share what I see in the routine and familiar with the hope that it brings the viewer a sense of calm, and perhaps a small drop of early morning anticipation in seeing what’s around the next corner.”

We can’t wait to see either, Laura!