I wander …I wildcraft …I weave
Foraging for wild food is part of my everyday life, so extending this to the gathering of weaving materials feels like a natural progression into my existing craft.
COMING SOON
wild weaving / basket making workshops
As a child I was always gathering twigs and vines that I found in my local woodlands. I loved the smell of the seasoned wood and the way it crackled in my secret woodland fires. The vines of Ivy, Bramble and Honeysuckle were gathered and fashioned into little rustic baskets and little bird feeders that I would fill with crab apples and hang in trees.
This year I completed a City and Guides in Basket Weaving and learnt some good skills in willow basketry. It also allowed for more innovative projects and the freedom to be more creative in my design.
As memories of childhood flooded back, I remembered how I loved to weave with wild foraged materials, a magical feeling and the freedom to be very creative within my own peaceful surroundings…in nature.
One of my childhood memories was an old log basket that was sat next to an old stove in my grandmothers house…the story goes that my Romani grandfather made it.
My Romani ancestral lineage is very important to me. The passing down of cultural skills and harvesting the knowledge of natural materials is my biological birthright. Learning about the seasonal cycles as my ancestors did and how the seasonal changes effect the structure of the plants is invaluable to my craft. I enjoy experimenting with different materials and gathering mindfully in the dormant season of the year which is calming to my mind and warming to my soul.
As a creative educator, I am super excited to share my new skills with my local and wilder communities and will be offering some basket making and wild weaving workshops in the very near future.
