Rush Basketry: Weaving with Eight Makers

Product Information

It is suitable for beginners as well as those with experience wishing to refresh or expand their skills. Access to basic materials and resources are available as part of this course. Please bring a book for note-taking. If you have one, a camera might be useful for recording progress, samples & other students’ work. When I've finished, what course can I do next? Leaves such as iris, crocosmia, daffodil, daylily, gladiolus, flax, cordyline are all suitable – cut them long and hang them up in bunches by the tip ends somewhere airy to dry. Nadine is also a trained Breath Coach and Yoga Teacher and will guide you through some useful stretches and calming breathing techniques to make your workshop a very grounded mindful experience, and to look after your bodies after a day of sitting and weaving.

A classic craft with a contemporary flair. Our rush and willow weaving courses are one day workshops in London and perfect for beginners.

These baskets are based on the rush frail, a basket that was used by agricultural workers to carry their lunch to the fields. The rush for these baskets grows in slow flowing rivers and has been harvested from the river Isle in Somerset. Rush combines well with other natural materials as well as reclaimed fabrics and features. Decorative Trays with Kirk. FULL (3 students)These trays look lovely filled with fruit or bread on your kitchen table. Using French randing and contrasting coloured homegrown willows you can create a variety of decorative effects. Small handles are optional. Add either finger hole handles or, for more experienced makers, rope handles can be added. Clothes are draped over the top and a pot of incense placed in the middle to fumigate them; a perfect dry cleaning process and the clothes must smell wonderful afterwards. Incense burner from neighbouring Salalah in Dohar. People with experience will be given the chance to refresh their knowledge, work on their own projects and, if wanted, try out more experimental work, perhaps using Rush with other materials.

One drizzly Sunday in November, NBG members got together, under the expert tutilage of Liz Balfour, to have our first go at making rush baskets with East Anglian rush. Rush seems to grow in few rivers in Britain now and I have been told that modern river management means that most beds have been cleared out rather than harvested. This keeps rivers flowing faster, perhaps faster than Mother Nature intended. Some people think that many of the problems we have with flooding are caused because we have done away with natural sponges like rush and moss which once mopped up surplus water. Made in 1977 by Angelina Dalpozza at Villanove di Bagnacvallo during the annual Rush Festival. The festival aims to recover the traditions of he low-Romagna region. Thanks to L’Associazione Culturale Civita Erbe Palustri, this unique event offers the opportunity to see local craftspeople at work. Waraji were some of the most popular straw-made items used by the general public of Japan. Records of waraji have been recorded in documents as old as the Heian period (794 – 1185) Advanced and intermediate students only. Please note: the underfoot base in both workshops requires students to work stood up in a 'touch your toes' position and then a kneeling position for some time. Please also note that the heavy rods used in these baskets make the courses unsuitable for those with weaker hands.I've been learning to make baskets and other willow and rush items since 2006. My teachers have included Colin Manthorpe, Susie Mulligan, Adrian Charlton, Mary Butcher, Felicity Irons, Jennie Crisp, Eddie Glew, Jennie Pearce, Dominic Parette, Rachel Evans, Sue Kirk. Urban harbour fishing chic. The gingham lining and glossy red colourway has the effect of giving this traditionally shaped basket a complete makeover. The result? A simple, individual hybrid reflecting strong undercurrents of tradition in fashion and concepts of the new luxury movement; craftmade-as-quality and durable design. The central theme of my pursuit of basketry is to see and really look at the willow and rush or flag growing in the immediate environment and to appreciate its beauty and usefulness as a part of the biodiversity of the landscape here in Lincolnshire. The act of turning the living willow into bundles of willow whips gives meaning to the useful pursuit of human endeavour AND it makes me happy, calm, thoughtful, occupied and more alive. The smell of fresh willow and willow bark is reviving. On a hot early summer's day, sitting under a shady tree stripping willow for white willow and willow bark is the ideal occupation for a restful afternoon.