Straw Craft with Penny Maltby

Event information

About the Workshop

Join straw artist Penny Maltby for a hands-on session exploring straw working techniques. Learn how straw has shaped our land, communities and customs. Penny will also share some of the history of corn dollies and the harvest during the workshop

In this workshop, you will learn how to prepare the straw ready for working, how to tie a straw workers knot and have the opportunity to create your own traditional harvest knot—a small, decorative token once made to celebrate the harvest or to give as a gesture of affection. We will then work on creating a corn dolly sampler using a variety of plaits and techniques such as the bullwhip plait and traditional 5 and 7 end plaits. There will be a selection of dried flowers and ribbons for you to use to decorate your sampler and harvest knots.

Traditionally, harvest trophies and corn dollies such as these would be taken to the Harvest Home supper or displayed on the farm, kept until Christmas or Plough Monday, then ceremonially burned, scattered, or ploughed back into the land—honouring the ancient belief that “what comes from the land must be returned to the land.”

As well as being a beautiful and endangered heritage craft, working with straw is a calming, mindful activity. Engaging in traditional crafts like this has been shown to support wellbeing and promote mental health.

This workshop is suitable for beginners but equally will be of interest to those with some experience in similar crafts who want to explore a different medium and set of techniques. Some manual dexterity is required for straw work

About the Tutor

Penny Maltby is an Oxford-based artist and Heritage Crafts practitioner working primarily with straw. With a background in textiles, her practice focuses on endangered straw crafts including straw work, hat plaiting, Corn Dolly making, and straw embroidery. Penny is passionate about the transference of skills and the development of traditional techniques within contemporary contexts. Through making, teaching, and research, she explores how this humble material has shaped our landscapes, rituals, and cultural heritage, while pushing the boundaries of what straw work can be today.