2023 workshop gallery in preparation....
Workshop Details - 1st week
Sunday 24th - Tuesday 26th September 2023
Ply Split Braiding with Tim Johnson
Sunday 24th - Tuesday 26th September 2023
Explore colour and texture with 'fluff pots' made in ply-split braiding. When cotton cordage made up of two or more elements are split and another element passed through, a very simple and useful weaving
structure is made. When this process is repeated with many ropes or
strings a whole world of textile creativity opens up.
Rooted in the camel herding traditions of Rajasthan this family of
techniques went unnoticed by textile artists in the west until the 1980s
when it was researched and popularised by the master weaver Peter
Collingwood.
In this workshop we will work with colourful cotton cords giving us many possibilities of colour combinations and contrasts. As time allows we will also look at ply-split darning, a related technique with many possibilities for use with hand made cordage and plant fibres.
In this workshop we will work with colourful cotton cords giving us many possibilities of colour combinations and contrasts. As time allows we will also look at ply-split darning, a related technique with many possibilities for use with hand made cordage and plant fibres.
Frame Baskets with Mai Hvid Joergensen
Sunday 24th - Tuesday 26th September 2023
Frame
or rib baskets were traditionally made all over Europe with a variety
of materials such as willow, hazel and spruce root and their shapes and
proportions varied according to their size and function. Taking
inspiration from these traditions you will learn how to control the
shape and weaving to create beautiful shoulder bags and baskets that are
both useful and stylish.
Willow Backpacks with Mònica Guilera
Sunday 24th - Tuesday 26th September 2023
Ideal for
picnics, shopping at the grocery store or a day on the beach these
attractive and light weight backpacks feature a traditional Catalan base
combined with sidings and a bundle border borrowed
from traditional fishing baskets. You will design your own colour
combinations of leather straps and border stitching and add a twisted willow handle if desired to create your own
individual and stylish statement.
Workshop Details - 2nd Week
Thursday 28th - Saturday 30th September 2023
Oval Fitched Baskets with François Desplanches
Thursday 28th - Saturday 30th September 2023
Join our 2023 guest tutor to learn classic French open-work techniques in brown willow. Working from oval hoops supplied by François you will weave the base and then scallom on the stakes. The light openwork structure is held in place by tight fitching and the basket is completed with the border and cranked rod handle.
François will guide you through the process of working to measure and controlling the shape with a focus on perfecting your scalloming, fitching, bordering and cranking techniques.
Base length around 40cm, inside top length around 50cm, height without handle 20 cm
Nansa Beach Baskets & Handbags with Mònica Guilera
Thursday 28th - Saturday 30th September 2023
The
Mediterranean is home to a beautiful and distinctive technique of
weaving used by fishermen to make a variety of fishing baskets and
traps. In Catalonia ‘Nansa’ fish traps were made in a variety of shapes
and sizes depending on the kind of fish they wanted to catch, the traps
were usually made in the winter with a very tough kind of rush (Juncus
acutus) as well as split cane (Arundo donax) and olive stems.
In this workshop you will learn to make beautiful, lightweight and strong beach baskets combining
the traditional Catalan base with the special 'Nansa' fishtrap
technique siding, bundle border and leather handles. Working with willow, this
workshop will provide you with a good grounding in this very
special technique and a useful basket to treasure for years to come.
Lattice Twining with Tim Johnson
Thursday 28th - Saturday 30th September 2023
Inspired by bags and baskets of the North American
Eastern Woodland Indians and ancient Peruvian textiles you will learn this special lattice twined structure. Combining twining and plaiting the structure offers many possibilities for exploring colour and creating dynamic patterns.
Combining dyed chair seating cane with a variety of cotton, linen, hemp and sisal strings in different colours and thicknesses you will design your own bags to suit your taste and style. Your bags and baskets may be worn as small handbags or hung on the wall as functional or decorative containers.
Workshop Details - 3rd Week
Monday 2nd - Wednesday 4th October 2023
Rectangular Baskets with François Desplanches
Monday 2nd - Wednesday 4th October 2023
Join our 2023 guest tutor to learn squarework with scallomed stakes. Your rectangular basket in brown willow can be worked straight or a flared giving the basket quite different profiles as you choose. François will guide you through working with a screwblock for the base, upstaking and handle strategy and using a cross mould (or not!) to control the shape and different solutions for bordering around the corners
Base length around 40 x 25 cm, height without handle 15 to 20 cm
Bundles & Ropes - willow basket structures with Mai Hvid Joergensen
Monday 2nd - Wednesday 4th October 2023
Working with bundles of willow you will explore a variety of weaving structures to create rhythm and texture in your baskets. Inspired by the the baskets of renowned English basketmaker Alistair Heseltine, Japanese techniques and the volume and strength created by working with rope like bundles you will make your own contrasting collection. In the workshop you will learn a variety of techniques in these smaller baskets that will be easily packed in your suitcase for the journey home!
Free Warp Tapestry - inspired by Polish fibre artist Tadek Beutlich
with Tim Johnson
Monday 2nd - Wednesday 4th October 2023
Create your own fibre artworks inspired by the innovative 'free warp tapestry' techniques of Polish fibre artist Tadek Beutlich. Inspired by the findings of Tim's 2022 research residency working directly from Tadek's unpublished manuscript 'The Techniques of Free Warp Tapestry' you will combine colourful yarns with plant fibre such as esparto grass, rush and cyperus to create your own experimental fibre art works.
In this course you will be encouraged to experiment in an open ended way with colour, form, scale and structure. Outcomes may then become sculpture, wearable art, wall pieces or baskets - we will find out on the journey!
