Learn the ancient art of fish skin tanning. In this workshop you will learn how to tan fish skins into durable leather using natural materials and tools. Working with fish skins deepens your relationship to the land and waterways, inviting you to engage with an ancient technology that all humans once practiced.    

This is a beginner friendly tanning class that allows you to learn the basic principles of bark tanning without the laborious work required in tanning larger animal hides. Fish skins are accessible, small enough to fit into jars, come in a beautiful variety of patterns and can be tanned on your kitchen counter. 

Students will leave confident in their skills with finished, tanned fish leather as well as a take-home fish skin to complete at home. Fish leathers' unique texture and design make them beautiful additions to any craft project. 

Foundational skills we will cover:

• Fleshing, cleaning, and descaling fresh fish skins

• Sourcing tannins from the environment + your kitchen cupboard

• Bark tanning theory

• Stretching and softening techniques

Rose is a craftsperson, artist, and writer living in the Oregon Coast range. She salvages and tans skins from animals harvested for meat that would otherwise be discarded to landfills using traditional techniques of bark, fat, and smoke. Rose takes food industry waste and transforms the material into heirloom wearable textiles and art pieces that tell a story of the deep, relational connection humans have to plants and animals. Through her relationships with natural materials and local ecology, Rose engages with an ancient human technology to create the oldest textile in the world, leather.