Willow basket weaving – baskets on a Catalan base

After a wonderful day making Tatza baskets, Saturday and Sunday were a two-day class on baskets on a Catalan base taught by Danish basket maker Anne Mette Hjornholm.

Once again we started out in the barn working on the Catalan base for our baskets. The Catalan base is  beautiful and very versatile and baskets were made of different designs from a large, beautiful oval basket to purses of various shapes and weaving techniques.

Later we moved out to work in the shade of our old weeping willow and the heat wasn’t quite as unbearable there.

By the end of the day you feel kind of “sticky” and Anne Mette and Jane decided to go for a swim in the lake. You can barely see their heads as two little, black dots in the picture.

 

 

In addition to the willow weaving experience of this class old friends enjoyed the opportunity to spend time together doing one of the things that they like - making willow baskets – while chatting and exchanging news.

Everyone had a great time learning new skills and enjoying each other’s company.

 

Most of us chose to make a purse during this class and here is an example of an open, fitched purse.

Other purses had a closed weave and patterns were created using different weaving techinques and different willow varieties for colour:

 

Really, working and creating with willow is absolutely wonderful

Willow basket weaving one o' one

Anne Mette Hjornholm was here from Denmark to teach willow basket weaving again last week - and we were not disappointed! In fact, just like last year everyone was thrilled about her abilities to cater to each individual person's needs as we all are at different levels of experience. 

Day one making Tatza baskets

The Tatza basket - also called a Polish bread basket - is a beautiful flat basket that can be varied in many ways. These are made using 6 x 6 willow rods of just one variety of willow and a small star of 6 x 2 rods appear in the center. Made with two or more varieties of willow with different colored bark the basket will appear quite different. It can also be varied by choosing another number of rods or by weaving another path of the rods in the center. 

The day was hot and after having assembled rods for our first baskets, we soon migrated from the barn to the lawn underneath our old weeping willow. For some magical reason there always seems to be a cooler breeze in the shade there - coming from Lake Erie just across the road. 
As we were working on our second baskets Anne Mette was able to keep an eye on all of us from the swing at the center of the tree. A wonderful start to 6 days of weaving.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Willow Basket Weaving - and Opportunity

I have mentioned it before. It can be difficult, very difficult to find someone living nearby who can teach you willow basket making - that is when you live in North America.We have some good willow basket makers in this part of the world; but they are few and far between.

Last month I had the opportunity to combine visits with family and friends while in Denmark with willow weaving sessions. Although Denmark is a very small country, I believe that they have some of the very most talented willow artists in Europe and I spent a few days learning from the best and discussing opportunities.

Anne Mette Hjornholm, who will be teaching here at Lakeshore Willows for 6 days in July, offered to teach me a technique new to me. Unfortunately I didn't have room in my suitcase to bring my basket home; but it found a home at my daughter's house. This week I am making a couple more to get a better feel for it.




Anne Mette's studio is like a candy shop when you like willow basketry and art. Take a tour of her website - you can choose English text - to see some of her beautiful work.

This very charming little girl - full of energy - was at our side most of the day

Anne Mette also introduced me to two of her friends and colleagues, both members of the Danish group "Baskets4Life" as is Anne Mette. 

Ane Lyngsgaard, a professional basket maker, owns "Pileriet" a former dairy renovated, rebuilt and now featuring 2 work studios, sleeping and cooking facilities for students staying there for classes as well as living quarters for Ane and her family. 

This was of course another place to make me drool. Baskets and sculptures everywhere. Ane's website also features English texts as you browse some of her extraordinary work. 

Dorte Tilma works her art with a multitude of materials. To mention a few: Large seaweed, willow, burning nettles, avocado shells, driftwood, bark. Besides that her skills with fibers as in knitting, sewing, weaving are fabulous and you cannot help but be inspired by her. Her website is also worth a visit for anyone interested in basketry and art. 

Another internationally very well known Danish basket maker is Steen H Madsen. I was lucky to be able to book two days of "private class" with him at his studio where I - by chance - had an opportunity to meet the French basket maker and author Bernard Bertrand who was visiting for a couple of days.

Steen's knowledge about basketry and historical baskets is enormous and he has an impressive collection of baskets of all sorts. My next blog post will  about my days with him.

Opportunity, opportunity... I think there is a chance that both Ane Lyngsgaard and Steen Madsen will one day visit Lakeshore Willows to teach classes.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

www.lakeshorewillows.com

This blog, WILLOWS has for a long time now acted both as a blog and a website.
After a long time coming I finally took the time to set up a website and I hope you like it:  www.lakeshorewillows.com 

This, of course, means that there will be some changes to the blog as information will be placed on the website and WILLOWS will revert to being a blog with references to the website.


Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

DANISH BASKET MAKER ANNE METTE HJORNHOLM TEACHING CLASSES IN WAINFLEET, ONTARIO 2013

What an amazing opportunity! One of Europe's most talented willow artists - Anne Mette Hjornholm - will be visiting Lakeshore Willows again this summer to teach willow basketry classes.. 

If you like willow basketry, you don’t want to miss out on this unique opportunity to learn from this very talented willow artist. 4 classes with Anne Mette have been scheduled:

Friday, July 19^th 2013

Saturday and Sunday July 20^th-21^st, 2013 (2-day class)

Monday and Tuesday July 22^nd-23^rd, 2013 (2-day class)

Wednesday, July 24^th, 2013

During the 6 days of classes a wide variety of designs and techniques will be taught and your project will be tailored after your preferences and skill level.

Each class will have a theme 
(click on photos to enlarge)

Friday the Tatza basket is taught. This is also called a Polish Bread basket. You will make 2-3 baskets of this type during this one day class.

Saturday and Sunday a wide variety of designs of baskets and purses made on a Catalan base will be available for you to choose from.

Monday and Tuesday again, a wide variety of designs of baskets, trays and sculptural designs "frame baskets with or without frames" will be available for you to choose from.

Wednesday you will learn the
Burkina technique and make 2-4 small, charming baskets at this one day class.







More information about the classes - and a registration form - can be found under the tab "Hjornholm 2013 class" at the top and don't forget to check out Anne Mette's web-site Hjornholm Pil - now also an English version. 

Last year Anne Mette's class was filled within one week! So if you want to take one or more of this year's classes, make sure to register NOW.

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Living Willow Workshops Spring 2013

Winter is here, but in another month we will be anxious to get our hands dirty in the garden.
Luckily that's the time to create living willow trees for your patio and garden and we have scheduled a number of workshops during March and April. At the workshops this spring you will be able to make

Harlequin tree

Variations of the twisted tree

Or multi-stemmed columnar trees where a number of living rods are woven together in a circle or square.

For information about scheduled workshops, time, cost etc, please look under the tab "Workshops and Events" at the top.


Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.

Learning new techniques and honing your skills

Everything new is difficult (for most people, I believe) but perfect practice makes much better perfect. Just think of - if you remember - the first time you tried to ride a bike, write letters, knitting etc. The same is true for making willow baskets.

After I made my first willow basket at a course in Denmark in May 2008 I, unfortunately,  didn't have the opportunity to go home and practice. I simply didn't have any basketry willow yet and I couldn't find any to buy or a teacher who could help. I made my second basket almost one year later in February 2009 with a friend and not until June 2010 did I have my third opportunity to weave with willow at a four day class instructed by Jo Campbell Amsler.




Later that year I had enough dried willow to start making willow bird feeders and slowly I ventured into willow basketry on my own.

When I participated in the HandMade Market for the first time in September 2011, I just had various bird feeders and a few woven trees for sale.

During a visit to Denmark in spring 2011 I went to see Anne Mette Hjornholm - who is one of Denmark's very talented willow basket makers. Take a look at her web-site which now also has an English version. We discussed the possibility of her teaching a course here in spring of 2012 and by the fall of 2011 we knew that it could be arranged. Anne Mette's visit and class here was very successful and gave me an enormous boost.

Different techniques and baskets were taught at the class and in July I met with 3 other students from the class for 3 wonderful days at the Toronto Island working on - and sharing with each other - some of the new techniques learned from Anne Mette.

In the meantime I attended "Willow Gathering 2012" in Decorah, Iowa in June. What a wonderful event! Again I had an opportunity to learn new techniques from a very skilled teacher Katherine Lewis. The rest of the summer and fall was spent practicing my learned skills and I'll tell you: Nothing beats practice in perfecting your skills. I'm getting there.

Rope coil baskets 

Small shopper

Words and photos by Lene Rasmussen,Willows.