by Esther Jakob
Why should we produce anything ourselves?
When you produce a material yourself, then you don’t just use it, you experience it – you participate. The materials which I made from stinging nettle transfer my natural environment into my daily live.
All materials were made from the stalks of the nettle. I collected about 100 nettle to make the individual materials. The best harvest time is from the end of June to October. During this period the nettle can grow up to 1 m. Now I will show you what can be produced from the fresh and dried stalks.
The paper consists of the waste from the dried stalks, which results from the extraction of the fibers. The process is the same as with traditional paper-making. Due to the high proportion of wood in the stalks, no additional material is required.
The mat consists of the fresh fibres of the nettle. The fibres were removed fresh from the stalks, similar to fibre extraction with dry stalks. The fibres must be woven together quickly while still fresh, otherwise they lose their shape and dry out. Due to its stability, it could also be used as a basket bag or fruit basket, for example.
How to extract fibres from nettles?
This is a guide on how you can win nettle stalks for yourself. The pictured tools can be bought or quickly rebuilt. It is an elaborate and long-lasting process that takes a lot of time but also lets us find ourselves again and creates a connection to nature.
The gallery was not found!Exhibition at Biotopia Museum
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If you would like to discuss a potential project, collaborate with me or simply have a creative chat, get in touch.
ejakob@hm.edu
_estherjakob