Friday 3 March 2017

Which basket will you take home?

Which basket will you take home? At Weaving by the Sea 2017 Monica Guilera will focus on two great traditional baskets used by fishermen along the Catalan coastline. The first of these is the Catalan Cove - Fisherman's Landing Basket that was made in a variety of sizes according to the catch and made with whole and split willow. One of the special features of this strong and economically made baskets is the now rarely seen cross base - also called the 'donkey base' - not because it was used for donkey baskets as you might think but because it was 'every day' and - apologies to the donkeys - quite simple! Simple in structure though it may be - compared to the well known Catalan and French bases that followed, the donkey base is very attractive and like the Catalan base has the great benefit of adding all the stakes right from the beginning.

Fishermen would unload their catches with these baskets forming chains of men walking up the beach to market their fish. We hope to re-enact this at the end of the course this year!

During our second week of courses Monica will teach the beautiful Fisherman's Nansa basket used by fishermen to carry their lunch, tools and whatever else they needed for a good day's fishing. During the course you will personalise your basket with your choices of colour and proportion.