Top picture of two charcoal sketches, one on a loose white paper representing a wood path and another in a spiral sketchbook representing human figures and a cat sleeping in a round basket. They lie on a wooden floor near a batch of charcoal sticks and two clutch pencils — Alessandra Fasoli © 2025

Craft Farm: Live Sketching with Handmade Charcoal

I'll be drawing live at the Craft Farm event organised by the Flax Project!

A full day of craft activities at the Flax Project field in Cornwall, to explore how to make artist's charcoal from willow using some 300 years old techniques, flax processing and cordage, live drawing, basket weaving, and natural dyes.

Vicky Putler, CEO of the Flax Project and one of the amazing craftspeople who participated in my ethnographic study, kindly invited me to do live drawings throughout the day using the batch of test willow charcoal they have made beforehand.

Digitally coloured pencil drawing. On the left: a sketched portrait of a woman wearing a yellow jacket showing flax crops and fibers. On the right: sketch of a cast iron machine for combing flax — Sketch of Vicky Putler during her talk at the Fab City Plymouth one-day conference on sustainable fashion in 2023

This event is a spin-off from my field study and I am really excited to participate in it. As a craft researcher, I am particularly fascinated by the circularity embedded in using handcrafted charcoal to draw craftspeople crafting charcoal.

Activities Programme

(timings are approximate and may change)

introduction and walk around 10.30am
charcoal retort firing 11am + ongoing with Professor Peter Oakley
drawing with willow charcoal 11.30 am demo + ongoing with Alex Fasoli
willow weaving 12 pm demo + ongoing with Hilary Burns
lunch at 1pm
flax processing for fibre & cordage 2 pm demo + ongoing with Vicky Putler
natural colour - pots of natural dye from plants in the field to experiment with Jane Deane (who also feature in my study and I have sketched her in various occasions) - ongoing.
end firing and open retort 3pm with peter Oakley

And , who also participated in my study