Following the great success of our first year of
Weaving by the Sea we are delighted to be shortly announcing details of the extended 2014 workshop programme - however looking back for just a moment we are delighted to have received glowing reviews in the recent newsletter of
Pileforeningen - the Danish Willow Association. Many thanks to Mona Kjær for sending on the translations.
Catalan basketmaking with Monica
Guilera
By Birgit Gehl Østergaard-Jensen
I was lucky. I was on a workshop with beautiful Monicà in the beautiful
autumn in beautiful Catalonia.
So there we sat - in the shadows of the olive trees with a view across
the blue ocean - full of expectations, as you are when you have the chance to
learn something new, to take it in and battle with new techniques and unknown
materials. Monicà greeted us with the happiest smile you can imagine and it
felt very natural to learn about Catalan baskets in these surroundings.
”Yes-yes-yes” and ”no-no-no” spoken with empathy were often heard when
Monicà explained and corrected and encouraged. The Catalan basket begins very
friendly - which means that it is easy to start with. The stakes are a given as
soon as the base is made; and while we learned the simple technique, we were
also told about the many details that are important in choosing material,
shaping the basket, preparation of the handle and so on. Our teacher was still
happy and full of energy when day one was woven to an end.
But THEN we had to choose material for the siding - and of course we
were inspired by the beautiful baskets Monicà showed us. Everyone wanted very
much to weave with the light, smooth material that we saw in most of the models
Monicà had brought along. With everyone equipped with a pair of gloves she cheerfully
started to show us how to split and cut the Cane (Arundo donax), it looked like bamboo and is a hard and sharp
material. Of course Monicà ended up splitting most of the cane and handing it
out to people, for it was a difficult job to work with this unknown material.
Imagine that some Catalan basketmakers have worked entirely with this
contrary sort of cane because it is free and grows everywhere in the area.
Willow on the other hand is expensive in Catalonia and not at all as uniform as
we know it from Denmark. But we all got through the challenges with the sidings
and nicely reached the border and the handle. The typical Catalan handle is
twisted like a rope and beautifully integrated into the border. We all wanted
to learn this of course - but we didn’t realize what we had got ourselves into and
Monicà almost looked concerned just by the thought of it! However we launched into
it, put all our strengths into keeping the twist in place, twist it the right
way and at the same time laying down the stakes. It was a challenge - and
honestly, Monicà, I don’t understand how your small effective hands could stand
helping us all! Thank you for helping us all to a successful result.
”Yes-yes-yes” - I’ll be there again in autumn of 2014, if in any way I can make
it.
Catalan Basket with a Twist with Mai Hvid Jorgensen
Weaving in Spanish, A
basketmaker’s experiences
By Kirsten Larsen
Weaving by the Sea is a very suitable description of three intense days
of weaving in Spain, you couldn’t wish for a better view over the sea.
I had chosen Mai's workshop: Catalan Basket with a Twist.
Everyone on this workshop learned to make the Catalan base. After that, the
twist came in! We used different plant materials: rush, palm tree flower stems, olive
twigs and more. Several people widened their weaving horizons with different
techniques which they hadn’t tried out before, while many used the well-known technique of French randing. We made bags with leather
straps, baskets with or without handles, and beautiful trays and dishes.
It was especially fascinating and inspiring to see the completely
different uses of the same materials; from the neatest little basket - tight in
shape and weaving - to bigger, looser and impulsive expressions in
baskets. The starting point was the Catalan base and then each basket evolved
and gained its own personal expression. It was clear to see, who travelled by plane and
who came by car, as the space in one's suitcase had to be considered for the size and number of baskets to be created.
The participants of this workshop came from Denmark, Norway and the USA,
so the language of the course was both in Danish, Norwegian, and English. No doubt everyone brought home some new international basketry terms. During the day most people
moved around their workspace - following the sun and shadow - that way we got to
share workspace with different people and watched the way they worked and gained inspiration.
The participants of Weaving by the Sea were mostly women, but one male
basketmaker had been curious enough to sign up for Mai’s workshop. Other men,
who didn’t take part in the workshops, were placed in the shadow with a cold
cerveza! Some took part in a tapas workshop in town or went sightseeing in
Barcelona.
Weaving by the Sea turned out to be very popular in the small town, some
of the locals took part in the welcome evening and showed their
hospitality with dance and music not to mention their local delicious food everyone felt most welcome.Our presence also caught the attention of the local staff, which came to
check every day what those crazy tourists were up to, even the local press came
by our weaving workshops.
Last but not least I have to mention the daily
delicious lunch prepared by Mònica’s friend Aina, Yummy!
Exploring Mediterranean Plant Materials with
Tim Johnson
By Agnete Diemer
As a start of a two month study trip to Spain
to study weaving, I signed up for Tim’s workshop in Vilanova. This is the best
thing I have done in years - I got in touch with my inner child and my curiosity
for techniques and different materials that I could use in my own designs at
home.
Tim started by presenting different Spanish
baskets and a load of materials picked up right outside the door in dry Spain: date
palm, banana fibre, different grasses, bark, bulrush, iris, olive
twigs, honeysuckle, clematis, and a special sort of cane (Arundo donax) that grows
everywhere in Spain. Arundo donax is used in many Spanish
baskets and has been used for many generations to weave fences, huts and bee hives and more. At all times, at all places on the earth people have
used the local materials available to them.
The first day Tim showed us how we could use
the different materials in different ways to weave rope and string - rolling the material
between your hands, on your knee or tie it to a tree. After that we could make
small baskets, bowls, mats and so on either by using the ropes or the pure
material.
To be on Tim’s workshop was like being in
“Bountyland”, like Robinson Crusoe on a desert island, using all the local
materials to create beautiful baskets. It was like being a child again, to play
and play after having learned simple techniques. To forget yourself and launch
into your fantasy without knowing, where you would end up. I gave up wanting to
aim at a certain result and left the workshop with lots of small weave samples
in different materials and the base of a basket in date palm that I would work on later.
Tim passes on his knowledge in a very pedagogic way, he generously
shares everything he knows and his enthusiasm is so catching. He also gave a
very interesting lecture with photos on Spanish baskets, the materials in their
natural surroundings and the current basketmaking scene in Spain.
Tim has travelled a great deal and takes advantage of the local materials
wherever he goes, he has agreed to teach on Natur Sommerhøjskolen on Bjørnø, Denmark in week 27, where he will encourage participants to work with all the natural materials to be found on this beautiful Danish island.
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