MMAM Workshop: The Sussex Trug – From Boat Design to Garden Gatherer with Jon Swanson

Saturday, May 17 | 9 am – 3 pm
Tuition: $150  | Member Rate: $140
Registration Deadline Saturday, May 10
Minnesota Marine Art Museum | 800 Riverview Dr.
minnesotamarineart.org

Join the traditional woodworking workshop led by MMAM’s own Jon Swanson and learn to craft a timeless, handmade ash wood trug—a versatile, lightweight basket perfect for gardening, flower gathering, or creating unique gift containers. Participants will steam and shape wood, use classic boat-building techniques with copper nails, and create a durable, beautiful vessel that can last for generations.

About the workshop
Trug comes from the old English word “trog”, meaning boat-like. The “modern” trug gardening basket was developed sometime around 1850 in the small town of Herstmonceux in East Sussex, UK. To this day, Sussex trugs are made entirely by hand. In this workshop, you will build a trug made of two hoops of steamed ash wood for the frame, filled with overlapping thin strips of ash secured with clenched copper nails, in the same manner as clinker built or lapstrake wooden boats. You have the option of building either a shallow trug for gathering flowers and herbs, or a deep trug for collecting fruits and vegetables. Trugs are simple, beautiful, functional, light weight, and long lasting, some are still in use after 100 years. Wonderful for cut flowers or your garden produce and lovely for indoor use and for special gift baskets as well. Learn more.

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is a member of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/membership/. River Arts Alliance serves as fiscal sponsor of the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest.