Sievers of Washington Island

August 30th a fellow basketry guild member and I set out on the drive from southwestern Ontario to Ludington, Michigan where the next morning we would take the ferry SS Badger across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. It was a 4 hour crossing but this trip took 4 1/2 hours due to unusually rough conditions.

No matter, it was a beautiful, sunny day and once in Wisconsin, it was a pleasant afternoon's drive north to the Washington Island ferry.

Sievers School of Fiber Arts is a haven for the serious fibre artist or basketmaker. We settled into the dorm and readied ourselves for a week of willow instruction with Jo Campbell Amsler, focusing on rib technique. The studio was in a converted barn next to the dorm, there was lots of good light and plenty of space. There were just 5 in our class and it was wonderful to have almost one-on-one with the teacher. The class was called Step By Step - Rib Style Basics and we were encouraged to learn how to make 3 or 4 different baskets. There were Scottish egg baskets, pouches, gathering baskets, sieves, melon baskets and other choices too. Almost new to rib construction, I chose to try the egg basket, a harvest pouch and a flat bottomed basket with a curly willow handle. We learned to make our own frames using a wooden form

and how to make perfect gods eyes and 3 point lashings to begin a basket.

There is a sally garden at Sievers and we enjoyed a tour, discovering some varieties I had not seen before along with some familiar ones. There is a class here in October where students actually gather the willow and use it for their baskets, taking the remainder home for more weaving. The week on Washington Island was an autumn delight, with matchless weather, trees still leafy and green and dark nights lit by a full harvest moon. Our dorm, late at night, photo by the husband of a student.

Some of the class with our baskets

and Jo Campbell Amsler with one of the students.

Everyone got together for a night of delicious pot luck. Here is the arrival of the main dish - gazpacho, courtesy of Jo.

There were many of Jo's baskets to admire:

Friday before noon we bid farewell and took the north route back to Ontario, staying over in Escanaba. We certainly enjoyed this willow week and expect to be back to Sievers before too long.

York Spring School Week

A week in the walled city of York in April, what could be better?  The daffodils were out and the BA’s York Spring School was in full swing.  Classes were at The Mount School and this year featured willow with Roy Youdale, skeined willow with Andris Lapins, twills with Linda Mowatt, split chestnut with Lluis Grau and ropework with Des Pawson.

Roy Youdale’s class was on round square baskets and D-shaped baskets and lids.  As space was limited in my suitcase, I concentrated on the round square and was rewarded with a full week’s instruction on the finer points of willow basketmaking.  We worked with buff willow which takes very little soaking, time is of the essence in a week long class.  The tannin in the willow bark is driven into the rod by boiling and the lovely brown colour is exposed when the bark is peeled off.  

The 8 students produced quite a few baskets.

We were privileged to visit Andris Lapins’ class in session and were given a demonstration on skeining willow.

This was Andris’ sample table. The quality of his work is breathtaking, see the earrings in the little bowl?

Linda Mowatt’s twill class produced a feast of pattern and colour.

Lluis Grau with his students’ chestnut splint creations.

Des Pawson’s students were busy on the ropes all week, too much for one photo.

After the weeks’ classes, we took a day to explore York.  Particularly interesting were the archaelogical displays at the recreation of the ancient Viking city of Jorvik, found underground at Coppergate.  When in York, everyone walks the wall and we entered by climbing the steps in this picturesque tower.  

Studying at the York Spring School is like going away to camp, you can sleep in a dorm, new friends are made and you feel lost after it’s over.  I felt I wanted to take all the classes but there’s always another year and plans are already being made to attend the 2011 Spring School at York.

Willow in Lunenburg 2007

In summer 2007, fellow willow enthusiast Jane and I attended Heather Sanft's 3-day class at the Lunenburg Seaside Craft School at Old Newtown School.  It is a picturesque building near the water and across from the docks.  The historic school is used for home economics classes, students walk across the road from the high school.  It was fun weaving baskets next to stoves, microwaves, refrigerators, washers and dryers.  Our tables had sewing machine desks under them.  Huge bundles of willow were available and there was an interesting selection of projects.  As always, Heather amiably teaches at the student's own skill level.

A number of beautiful round baskets of all shapes and sizes were created by the 7 students, 3 from Nova Scotia and 4 "from away" - Iowa, Virginia, Massachusetts and Ontario.  The third day, after learning how to add different styles of handles, we were treated to Heather's slides revealing her journey through baskethood in France and England and of her wonderful commissioned projects.  The day was quite relaxed.  Heather showed how to make a tension tray and Jane taught a spiral baby rattle.  There was much conversation and once again we have a new set of basketry contacts.  Sian from Antigonish grows her own willow - we had much common experience to share!

Lunenburg is beautiful and picturesque.  The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic is unbeatable, one of the best of its kind.  The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the icing on the cake was a Monday evening concert in the miraculously rebuilt St. John's church.  We were treated to a phenomenal performance by Elecktra, an internationally known women's choir from Vancouver.

Jane and I were still so excited about willow that at the B & B, very late the night after the class, we wove the last few tips of willow into tiny spiral weave baskets.

Willow in Lunenburg 2005

In summer 2005, I stepped out of my life in Southwestern Ontario into a week where baskets were the main event.  I took a trip to picturesque Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to weave willow with instructor Heather Sanft and six classmates from faraway places such as Newfoundland, North Dakota and Hawkesbury, Quebec.  Two of us were Ontarians, only one student was from Halifax!

Heather is an experienced teacher who has studied in France and woven many commissions, including some for films.  She and husband, Dan, operate a pick-your-own blueberry business and the Lunenburg County Winery in Newburne, Nova Scotia.  She has planted willow on their farm including a living willow fence.  We were treated to a delicious meal there one evening and afterward we shopped in their wine and gift store!

Classes were run by the Lunenburg Seaside Craft School's Paulette and Bill Hackman who spared no effort to make our week a memorable experience.  We were cared for in every way, the week began with a reception for the class at their home where we met fellow students.  Lunches were catered and the food was first rate.  Our classroom on the third floor of the Lunenburg Academy offered a breathtaking view of the town and countryside beyond because the Academy is atop the highest point in Lunenburg.

Three baskets were taught:  an English fruit sieve in white peeled willow, a French casserole basket in buff willow and a Swiss berry basket in brown willow but we had the opportunity to make other baskets as time permitted.  Our Nova Scotia student wove five baskets that week!  I enjoyed weaving my baskets but had to keep them small so they would fit into my suitcase for the flight home.  Here's our week's output, not bad, eh?

It was wonderful to be a part of this group of basket enthusiasts and to watch each weaver as they created their projects.  Some had not woven a basket before and many had not woven with willow.  I highly recommend the Lunenburg Seaside Craft School and will certainly return to Lunenburg again to weave willow.

Basket Class in Nova Scotia

This is a story I wrote for our guild newsletter, thought I'd share it with you.

In September and October 2004, the Nova Scotia Basketry Guild hosted two-day willow basketmaking workshops at locations around their province. The event was called "The Nova Scotia Basketry Tour." Students had the privilege of learning from Master Basketmaker Werner Turtschi of Switzerland.

After I arrived at guild president, Joleen Gordon's home in Dartmouth, Werner and I travelled to the farm of Heather and Dan Sanft where this class was held.  Here they operate the Lunenburg County Winery, run a pick-your-own blueberry operation and host their B & B. Located on high ground with a breathtaking view of surrounding lakes and hills, this was a wonderful place just to be, even without the basketmaking. A pleasant bonus was the seemingly endless supply of fresh blueberries and a variety of delicious fruit wines with dinner.

Heather grows a collection of cultured basketry willow and shared some cuttings of her favourite varieties with me. One of the students brought a couple of rods of his more interesting willow including a heavy variety used for furniture making. The one year growth was over 9' long! I was thrilled to be adding five new varieties to my willow beds and planned to plant several more in the spring.

The first day of the workshop was sunny and cool, perfect for weaving outdoors.  Werner took the ten students through each step in the construction of a classic round willow basket in the Swiss tradition, completing the base, bottom 4 and 3-rod wales and one set of French randing on day one.  The next morning was rainy but we moved inside a quonset building and forged ahead, weaving the second set of French randing and the top 4-rod wale.  After lunch, we wove the border but the piece de resistance was the set of roped handles, a good way to learn the skill because if you did not quite succeed the first time, you got another crack at it with the second one.  It took some persistence to learn to rope a piece of willow to prepare it for the handle.

The workshop ended with a feedback session, complete with Swiss chocolate and posing for a "family portrait".  All in all, October was a perfect time of year to spend a weekend outdoors in beautiful rural Nova Scotia weaving willow baskets with Werner Turtschi.