Willow is a material gaining popularity in the green burial and "good death" movements as sustainable and biodegradable, while also being a lower cost option for burial than traditional caskets.
The death studies research group at Northwestern University's Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities will host artist and award-winning willow coffin maker Sophia Campbell-Shaw for a communal casket weaving practicum April 17 to 21, followed by a casket procession along the lakefront on Earth Day, April 22.
Participation is free and open to the public. Space is limited and online registration is required.
Campbell-Shaw is the founder of Woven Farewell Coffins in the U.K., where she handweaves sustainable coffins and leads workshops to aid families in the bereavement process.
Although wicker coffins have been in use since the Roman empire, and especially common in the U.S. during the Civil War for their portability, Campbell-Shaw first encountered willow weaving when her mother died.
"My mother planned her dying process to allow us as her family to be supported by professionals and our community, as well as openly talking about her dying experience and processing it with us," Campbell-Shaw said. "Her parting gift for me was taking the taboo out of death. And I slowly realized that weaving coffins integrated a lot of my skills."
Event organizer Mel Keiser, an artist in residence during Kaplan Institute's 2021 practicum for how to dig a grave and a staff member in the art history department, said the casket weaving practicum is an attempt to slow the pace of life and make space for processing grief.
"You're learning alongside others to make something with your hands you didn't know how to do before. Then with strangers, you are carrying that object over a distance that is long enough to be a bit of a sacrifice. These are acts of care that are small-scale attempts to create time, space and community," Keiser said.
When funeral rituals moved online during the pandemic, people lost physical contact with others. The communal casket procession serves as a reminder of the community's essential role in the grief process.
The casket procession is open to all who wish to process a loss, from the death of a loved one to the physical or psychic trauma of war, gun violence, the climate crisis or a personal trauma.
"I think a lot of us don't have time these days to do things that are hard, take a long time and are a little nonsensical," Keiser said. "We don't trust a process to have value if we can't see it or explain it. I want people to learn that these simple things, if you grant them space, give them patience, can have meaning even if you can't explain it."
Willow casket activities schedule:
Practicum to weave a willow casket
April 17 - 21, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kresge Centennial Hall, first floor gallery
1880 Campus Drive, Evanston
