The Coracles of Pignut Pond
2016
collaborative boat building project and participatory event
Made for POND, a special session at Mildred's Lane, "The Coracles of Pignut Pond" were designed, built, and ceremonially launched for the inauguration of Pignut Pond, a new body of water designed collaboratively at the Lane. Reflecting a humble, vernacular aesthetic and a whimsical attitude, the Coracles fostered a sense of play, failure, and fantasy on the pond.
Coracles are one of the simplest boats known to humanity. Originating in many cultures (Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Native American tribes of the Central Plains), they were traditionally fabricated from green saplings and hide. Our coracles used green red oak, soaked for several days until pliable, copper rivets, and painted canvas.
The coracles were built over a two-week stay at the Lane, with the participation of the Mildred Fellows and other guest artists and scholars. As we worked, we also participated in sessions about pond ecology, Thoreau, artists' lectures, and the domestic life of Mildred's Lane, and the session culminated with a celebratory coracle launch, involving many "shipwrecks."
Coracles are one of the simplest boats known to humanity. Originating in many cultures (Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Native American tribes of the Central Plains), they were traditionally fabricated from green saplings and hide. Our coracles used green red oak, soaked for several days until pliable, copper rivets, and painted canvas.
The coracles were built over a two-week stay at the Lane, with the participation of the Mildred Fellows and other guest artists and scholars. As we worked, we also participated in sessions about pond ecology, Thoreau, artists' lectures, and the domestic life of Mildred's Lane, and the session culminated with a celebratory coracle launch, involving many "shipwrecks."