The nests are made from gatherings of dune grass I find washed up on the beach at Lake Michigan after some big-wave days. Usually the grass has been soaking in the water for a long time, so it is very supple for winding and weaving into shape. I only use grasses I find, and never pull any up from along the beach—not only do I not want to disturb the beach ecology, but the process of long soaking is important to the later forming, and I love working with found materials the most anyway! I also beachcomb for egg-like stones to add to the inside… I can often find two that go well together and sometimes finding the third is the real search! The last step is choosing bases to go with finished nests. I like interesting stones that complement the various sizes of the nests, and also like to use lengths of birch bark (again only from windfallen trees) that I make into circles that can support a special nest.
