About Julie and her willowI enjoy and am inspired by the natural environment and have an urge to recreate and celebrate the shapes, forms, mass, flowing lines and textures of the flora and fauna, drawing and designing with pencil and charcoal then using flexible willow to form the sculptures and shapes.
My first memory of a basket was when I was very young, I packed a mini willow basket filled with essentials to 'leave home'! On travels I am drawn to stalls of baskets and folklore museums, made from local materials, so practical and functional yet so beautiful. I love baskets and studying the materials and processes of making them, their weaves, colours, textures, shapes and have a house full to bursting and a studio full of homemade and bought, new ones and old… frame, stake and strand, traditional and contemporary designs, willow, hazel, Cypriot and Sardinian ones made from grass, Canadian ones from cedar, a Lancashire Southport Boat and a Fleetwood trawl basket. I started seriously making after a willow workshop I was bought for a present 15 years ago, then went on a making a living from basketmaking course, won funding to study traditional English basketmaking and have continued learning from renown UK makers over the years. I have been making to sell for almost a decade and want to make strong, functional baskets that are also a pleasure to use, utilising natural resources that are grown, harvested, made into baskets then composted at the end of their use… a sustainable cycle. I also have a desire to share these skills, keep the craft alive and give people the opportunity to experience using natural materials to weave and make their own baskets and sculptures. |
I grow several varieties of willow in a small area near home that can be used to add colour to my baskets, and have planted some Lancashire heritage varieties, renown for their quality and indeed they are a pleasure to weave with. They are cut and graded into lengths in the winter then bundled loosely and dried in the polytunnel before tying up and storing in a dry shed. Different products require different grades of willow and these are selected and submerged in a tank of water for a few hours to a few weeks, depending on the sort of willow and length, to make them flexible and then taken from the water and wrapped in a blanket overnight in the studio to mellow.
Sometimes other materials are foraged, processed, dried, rehydrated and incorporated into the basket such as bark, rush and cordage made from plants such as nettles. There are different workshops on offer to learn about these different ways of making a basket, sculpture and using foraged materials. Please contact me if you are interested and would like more information.
Sometimes other materials are foraged, processed, dried, rehydrated and incorporated into the basket such as bark, rush and cordage made from plants such as nettles. There are different workshops on offer to learn about these different ways of making a basket, sculpture and using foraged materials. Please contact me if you are interested and would like more information.