Workshops

ROLLING RUSH GRANARY BASKETS WITH NADINE ANDERSON

Thursday 6th and Friday 7th March One space available

Cost £240, includes materials, 9.30am- 4.30pm (8 students). Suitable for all levels- less experienced weavers might create smaller baskets.

A frivolous or whimsical basket woven on a spherical mould designed and developed by Nadine Anderson for an exhibition in 2015, so named as they became containers for the rush flowers picked off when weaving.

 A distinctive square base where groups of stakes overlay one another at 90 degrees, becomes round quite rapidly with small pairing stitches. Twining techniques allow for exploration of texture and pattern with varied stitches such as an off-set chain pair, or chain waling as the curvy walls of the basket form on moulds. Nadine will encourage makers to incorporate other leaf matter to create unique baskets.

Guidance on material selection, with fine or coarser rushes used at certain points, will aid shaping and stitch size, giving the baskets balance and good form.

Cordage or fine plaits will become the string handles, and the prospect of a workshop full of rush granaries all spinning and rolling at the end of the two days is extremely exciting.

PLY-SPLIT BRAIDING WITH HELEN LEAF

Thursday 8th and Friday 9th May 7 spaces available

Cost £240, includes materials, 9.30am-4.30pm (8 students) Open to all levels, beginners welcome.

This workshop is an introduction to ply-split braiding, and gives a good grounding in the key structures that are used. We start simply and build gradually, making braids, small projects and a basket – these will all embody certain skills and techniques, which you can refer back to in the future if you take things further.

Ply-split braiding is a unique and innovative textile technique, a kind of off-loom weaving where high-twist cords go through the centre of, or are split by, other cords. During the course, you’ll work with wool, cotton and linen, to get a feel for these different materials. We’ll talk about the origins and traditions of the technique, and you’ll see examples of what’s possible when it becomes contemporary craft. Hopefully you’ll leave with a sense of appreciation for what has gone before, and with inspiration for your own place in how things move forward.

ASH SPLINT BASKETRY WITH MICHELLE MATEO

One day course - Making a square bottom to round top basket

Friday 16th May FULL

Cost £150, cost includes pre-split materials, 9.30am-4,30pm. Beginners welcome, suitable for all levels. (6 students)

A one day workshop discovering how to weave a square-bottom to round top ash splint basket. The techniques that participants will learn have their roots in traditional basket making of North America.

The course will cover:

1.Preparation and background: Each ash splint used to weave the basket starts as a section of the tree’s growth ring and is created through pounding an ash log. Students will learn part of the process themselves but the day is primarily weaving the basket. The materials are pounded and split in advance for you. 

2.Processes and finishing: You will learn how to do basic weave, understand form and tension.

3.Basic theory: Identifying ash, discussions on choosing a log for pounding, the pounding process and the threat of ash dieback to the species.

Although some previous experience of basketry may be helpful, it is not essential.  The skills learnt throughout the course will give you the foundation to adapt future baskets to your own design and it will give you a new appreciation of the mighty ash; its durability, flexibility, strengths and weaknesses.

Two day course - Making a square bottom to round top basket, includes pounding and splitting ash.

Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th May FULL

Cost £250, includes materials, 9.30am-4.30pm. Although some previous experience of basketry may be helpful, it is not essential.(6 students) Students must have good physical strength and endurance as the first day is very labour intensive.

Spend a two-day workshop discovering how to weave a square-bottom to round top ash splint basket. The techniques that participants will learn have their roots in traditional basket making of North America.

The course will cover:

1.Preparation and background: Each ash splint used to weave the basket starts as a section of the tree’s growth ring and is created through pounding an ash log. Students will do the process themselves and learn the different tools used to prepare them including strip cutters and carving knives.

2.Processes and finishing: You will learn how to do basic weave, understand form and tension, weaving in handles (these will be prepared in advance).

3.Basic theory: Identifying ash, discussions on choosing a log for pounding, the pounding process and the threat of ash dieback to the species.

The skills learnt throughout the course will give you the foundation to adapt future baskets to your own design and it will give you a new appreciation of the mighty ash; its durability, flexibility, strengths and weaknesses.

LOG BASKET WITH FRILLS , A THREE DAY WORKSHOP WITH PETER DIBBLE

Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th and Friday 13th June 3 spaces available

Cost £320 Suitable for experienced basketmakers such as advanced and intermediate students with physical strength due to the weight of the rods being used. Also the underfoot base requires flexibilty as it is made on the floor under your foot! (8 students)

This course will help you make your log baskets stand out from the crowd & teach you a good few techniques along the way.

We'll start with an underfoot round base, a method not everyone knows how to do. Then once the basket is staked up & the upsett done you'll create a spiral effect up the sides using English Randing. The border will be doubled up to give a nice, chunky look & before the cranked handles are fitted a false foot will be added.

These are all good skills to learn which hopefully you can take on and use in many baskets to come.

RANDOM WEAVE WITH POLLY POLLOCK

Tuesday 24th, Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th June 6 spaces available

Cost £320 suitable for all levels, beginners welcome, 9.30am-4.30pm (8 students)

This course would probably be most suited to students who’ve never done random weave before so could be interesting to students who’ve never done any basketry before and/or students with basketry experience but not random weave - it’s a pretty straightforward technique after the basic principles have been learned!   It’s a technique which gives a lot of scope for experimentation …. 

Random Weave is a very versatile technique.  Its roots are in Japanese Ikebana basketry traditions, but it’s a relatively new approach to making basketry outside Japan, which over the past 10 years or so has become an increasingly popular technique to explore.

It has many similarities to the way weaver birds construct their beautiful and intricate nests.

The technique can be used to create very simple or far more complex work. When worked very small it can be used to make jewellery, for example beads, or scaled up it can be used to create large sculptural pieces and installations - and much in-between.

On this three day course you’ll make a minimum of two basketry pieces.  You’ll learn the essentials on your first piece, working with glossy lapping cane, then move on to working with paper yarn to learn more about the technique.  You’ll also be able to explore some of the following : weave density, texture, scale, colour and more.

Like many basketry techniques, Random Weave is slow and meditative allowing time for contemplation and experimentation, but once the basics are learned, ; it offers enormous potential for experimentation and innovation.

THE CAITHNESS HAYVE WITH TIM JOHNSON

Friday 11th, Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th July One spaces available

Cost £350, 9.30am-4.30pm , (8 students), Suitable for intermediate and advanced makers, if you have previously woven with rush this would be beneficial, but not a requirement, you will make a practice piece first before launching into the final piece.

The Caithness Hayve is a traditional fisherman's bait collecting basket originally made with soft rush (juncus effusus) and worked in the Neolithic braiding technique. Tim first discovered the Hayve in Thurso in 2012 and has been researching and making these special baskets ever since. Variously called Punto de Cofin/Burkina technique and Neolithic Braiding, this family of techniques can be described as a continuous braid where elements are added in and given out on each 'stitch'. Those elements given out are then picked up on the next round creating an open or closed woven structure that can be adapted to a wide variety of materials. While still a well known and diverse technique in Spain today its traditional use in the British Isle appears to have been very local, Tim has only found examples on the North coast of Scotland and in Orkney. During this three day workshop you will practice the starting fringe, the basket unusually starts at the top and is worked downwards, and then go on to make the basket using chair seating rush.

Tim is an English artist and basketmaker based in Spain with over 20 years experience, his work combines research into uncommon soft material techniques and basketmaking traditions and his own innovative contemporary practice.

ARC AND NUT BASKET WITH NADINE ANDERSON

Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th and Friday 26th September 5 spaces available

Cost £320 includes materials, Suitable for intermediate and advanced students. (8 students)

The Arc & Nut Baskets are designed to be stored on a hook and are used for harvesting small fruit or nuts, but could equally be used as a handbag, needlework, or tool bag. Willow and rush are combined in a hybrid frame and stake &strand basket with the twined rush vessel woven about a preformed willow or cobnut handle bow. The bunched and bound start of the tapered Nut and the larks head lashing of the horizontal based Arc, allow for play with different twining techniques. Nadine will encourage you to create varied patterns, textures, and shapes and explore different Trac borders with the use of firm paper moulds to control shaping and the final form.

Nadine will bring preformed handles and there will be the opportunity to use a steamer to form your own. Students are encouraged to bring any interesting leaf material from their garden such as Iris or Crocosmia and any willow bark they may have to experiment with.

The Nut & Arc baskets were designed in 2015 when Nadine looked to rustic split hazel and chestnut work from France and willow “graticcio” fruit drying trays of Italy. She is enjoying the chance to revisit the marrying of willow and rush in her own practice and her workshops.

CELTIC KNOT BASKET WITH JUDY SIMMONDS

Course 1. Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th November 4 space available

Course 2. Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th November 6 spaces available

Cost £240 for one course, includes materials, Suitable for intermediate and advanced students, requires upper body strength. (7 students)

This intriguing Celtic Knot platter is reminiscent of flowing patterns of Victorian carpet beaters, sailor’s knotted rope mats and Celtic stone crosses.  Almost magically, tension and balance are the forces which hold the structure together. You can make one to two platters over two days.

In the construction, tension and balance are paramount, holding the intricate design together. The process requires a keen eye, along with strength in your shoulders and hands to maintain the rotating rhythm strand by strand. As the shape tightens, gentle adjustments can be made to raise the edges, allowing for a bowl rather than a platter profile.  Once you grasp the rhythm and sequence, you will rotate to the next position, curving the willow rods until they are all locked in place. The second phase involves pulling and easing each rod against its neighbour to ensure even, snug tension throughout. 

For students working with willow, the Celtic Knot provides an accessible introduction to its flexible nature and the importance of rods of 'nearly exact' size supporting one another. Unsoaked willow is used for this construction, and the only tools required are sharp snippers or small garden pruners and long-nosed pliers.   

During the 2 day course, the logic of the sequence and each movement is thoroughly demonstrated, making progress a straightforward journey with repetition of a single weaving movement. You will begin the course by sorting the 50 rods into groups of similar diameters, followed by trimming and laying out according to the star/pentangle formation. Each rod then follows a specific weaving pattern, guided by one-to-one instruction and ample support for any challenges that may arise. By the end of the workshop, you should have completed your own Celtic Knot platter, with additional bundles of willow available for further practice at home or if time you can weave another basket in the workshop.