Tea Ceremony and Weaving Workshops
Tea Ceremony &
Weaving Workshops
Weaving Workshops
It is such a joy to walk people through weaving and spinning workshops. Each workshop is a mix of structure and technique, and a fluid process of experimentation and exploration.
Sometimes workshops are paired with Tea Ceremony, others are paired with Spinning.
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If you are interested in hosting a workshop or collaborating on a special event, please reach out.
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Tea Ceremony
Tea Ceremony is a silent meditation connecting us to ourselves, Tea, and nature. Tea meets us exactly where we are and this ceremony gives space for all that is present. Come receive the medicine of Tea and the spaciousness to simply BE.
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If you are interested in a private Ceremony for a special event, please reach out.
About Me
I am Mackenzie, an Orcas Island local, offering Tea Ceremony and weaving workshops. I am the host Rooted Archipelago, but I work in community. All of my offerings are done so through collaborations and joint-efforts with other humans and the natural world.
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I began my journey with Tea as a child who loved the English tea traditions, I enjoyed tea parties and drank tea daily my whole life. In 2022, I discovered Tea in a much deeper way, rooted in traditional ways of brewing and connecting more spiritually to the plant and natural world. This began first as a personal practice to bring me back to myself and connect to the earth after a season of great loss. Then this practice grew as an offering to bring people together in an intimate and peaceful meditative ceremony.
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Shortly after moving to Orcas Island, I met my weaving mentor, Maria Nutt, and have been involved with the textile art community since. Part of this beautiful tradition of weaving and spinning involves passing on the skills. It is a great joy of mine to walk people through the creative process and watch new textiles be born.
Community and Collaborators
This work is not done alone! I am always honored to work with wonderful humans to bring ceremonies and events to life. Learn about my community, mentors, collaborators, and co-teachers.
Maria Nutt
Maria, with her husband Bob, moved to Orcas over 30 years ago. Between teaching science at the local school, they established Warm Valley Orchard, a working sheep farm, orchard, and textile studio. To keep up with the endless supply of wool from their sheep, Maria learned to spin yarn from another long time islander, and neighbor, Barbara Humes. She later joined the San Juan Textile Guild and learned to weave, eventually participating in the "sheep to shall" competition at the County Fair for many years.
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Maria brings a depth knowledge and experience with processing wool from raising lambs, sheering, processing fleece, spinning yarn, dyeing, knitting, and weaving. She considers herself a lifelong learner and has a fun philosophy combining knowledge and experimentation she calls "happy school of textile accidents".
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Keeping with the traditions of spinning and weaving and her passion for teaching, Maria enjoys passing on her knowledge and skills to those interested in the craft. You can find her in her studio or on the farm at Warm Valley Orchard.
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Cathy Vierthaler
Cathy has been involved with textiles since she was a child. Her mother, grandmother, and a great-grandmother taught her "the needle-arts" at age 6 and she was hooked ever since. Once a seamstress, quilter and fabric store owner on Orcas Island, she now focuses on spinning, dyeing, and knitting. She works exclusively in natural fibers, primarily wool, mohair, and silk.
With her two grown children out of the nest, she devotes much of her time to her craft, and she is passing on her knowledge to her grandchildren now.
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As a child, Cathy spent summers and vacations with family on Orcas. The Island made it’s way into her heart, and her textile design. She is very well known on the Island for her famous "Cathy Hats".
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Check out her work on her instagram Island.knitwear and on ravelry