Threshold Vessels

We make these threshold vessels to hold our beloved dead, hold one another, our grief, what is hard to hold, what is beautiful, what is loved. Our bodies forming boats of willow sticks to sail our beloveds towards their deepest rest and return. We weave these vessels as a way to be with, to be in devotion, in vigil, in silence and in steadiness..

There are so many ways our bodies can be held and wrapped in beauty in death. We understand that the choices and access to choice around end of life care and what happens to our body after we have died are nuanced, personal, cultural, and are also heavily impacted by systemic inequities and ecological imbalances/confusion.

May these be vessels of change, inspiration for healing conversations, and spirited steps towards what our hearts most long for in the innately powerful and alchemical journey that is death and decay.

Offerings

We make lidded coffins and Soul Boats - also called willow trays. All are unique expressions of care that flow from our weaving hands. The threshold vessels we make will continue to change shape and form to the needs of individuals and communities and the ever- shifting relationships to death/dying. 

Our Services

Soul Boats

The soul boats, also called willow trays, are shallow vessels used to hold a body, usually shrouded, and can be filled with flowers or other special items, inviting the living to participate in the adorning and meaning within the basket.. The basket can be shallow on the ends or swoop up to form a curved head and foot. Each soul boat has six handles.

Lidded Coffins

Our current style of willow coffins have a lid with toggles and rods to hold the lid on as seen in the photo.. We can make other styles shown below in the gallery. The coffins can be filled with flowers or other special items, inviting the living to participate in the adorning and meaning within the basket. Each coffin has six handles.

film photography by Erin Scabuzzo

Commissioned Vessels

“It is hard to know how to share the immensity of my gratitude and respect for Mo and her craft. She partners with Willow beyond the mechanics of harvesting and weeding, bending and weaving. There is an alchemy to Mo’s work. Like the magician card in a tarot deck, she channels energies of earth, Willow, time, and love to form exquisite vessels. These baskets and caskets feel like they’re timeless, like they’ve emerged from something ancient that resonates deeply within. We’ve all inherited an intimacy with earth and her materials, with the cycles of life and death. Carrying my daughter to her final rest in a Soul Boat helped make the unbearable feel sacred. It’s rare to meet someone who is so authentically living their calling; Mo somehow taps into a sacred flow to create the vessels we, as a community, desperately need in a changing world. I cannot recommend working with her strongly enough.”

-Terri