for more information or to register contact art lab
email - click here telephone - 902-254-2972
instructor - Pat Reid
course cost - $300
class size - 7
experience level - Beginner-Intermediate
additional materials fee - $45 to be paid on day one
course description
You’ll learn how to make a round willow basket, and you’ll decide what diameter the base will be, what angle the sides will have, and how high you want it to be.
We’ll use a mixture of willow, dried and also freshly cut, from the county of Somerset, where it is grown commercially and from Rumtopf farm in Lunenberg County. This combination offers a wide range of colours.
course details
You’ll be guided through the techniques of weaving a base, attaching the stakes that form the skeleton of the sides, starting the sides (the upsett!), and then weaving the sides. The border is made by bending down the stakes in a simple pattern.
supplies to bring
Secateurs (small pruning shears)
A sharp gardening knife
Rapper (a long rectangular piece of metal to hammer down the sides as you weave up)
Bodkin (a heavy tapered metal tool which is used to to open up the work to enable insertion of willow stakes)
I will be bringing new bodkins with me which you’ll be able to use and purchase if you like as they are not available in Canada.
The Complete Book of Basketry Techniques by Sue Gabriel and Sally Goyner is recommended for beginners and intermediates alike. It may be out of print, but can be found on the internet. It is a good investment if you will continue weaving after the course.
about the instructor
Pat is an expat Canadian living in England for the past thirty years where she learned basket making from Mally Gower, a professional artist skilled in the craft of English willow basketry. She continued work/training with her throughout the 1990's.
Since then, she's carried on making baskets, using willow from the county of Somerset, where it is grown commercially, and also using local willow and hedgerow materials. She's offered courses in England. Pat has come to Parrsboro since 2016 where she has joined Art Lab’s faculty every summer (pandemic excepted) and where she has developed a reputation as a talented, insightful, and patient instructor. Art Lab is glad to have her return.
Cancellation Policy
If for any reason the participant wishes to cancel prior to two weeks before the commencement of the course, the full fee minus a 10% service fee will be refunded. Please note that there will be no refunds if the participant cancels within two weeks of the commencement of the course.