Living Willow

Happy New Year!

2012-12-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

Willow Christmas tree by Marian Medlyn, photo from Poppy Hatinger

With the daylight hours starting to lengthen, now is a great time for making plans. Here are a couple of things you might want to consider.

Jo Campbell-Amsler and Lee Zieke Lee will host their second Willow Gathering in Decorah, Iowa June 27-July 2, 2013. The 2012 event was amazing, and this year's line-up of instructors is all you need to start feeling inspired: Allison Fitzgerald from Ireland, Margaret Matthewson from Oregon, and Joanna Schanz from the Amana Colonies in Iowa. The conference brochure is here. Don't wait to register!

There's also an opportunity to study with Jo Campbell-Amsler and Joanna Schanz in the Amana Colonies March 9-10, 2013. This is a new date for Willow Weekend, a long-running event where each instructor takes no more than five students and tailors the event to each student's needs and desires. Details are here.

Thank you to Poppy Hatinger for the holiday photo at the top of this post. She writes: "I have had Marion help me several times with Willow in the Garden presentations and willow garden towers workshops but she didn't need a tower in her garden. I kept saying it could be a christmas tree. So after harvest this year she gave herself a big project and attached are the results. I had to laugh since she intended for something somewhat smaller but the willow just seemed to grow! To finish it she was up on a ladder."

Wishing you all a wonderful 2013 with thriving ideas and willow that grows the the way you need it!

Willow Squarework Video

2012-03-08T06:09:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this via someone who subscribed to my own YouTube channel. My college French is pretty rusty, so I forwarded through some of the weaving of the base (lots of good visuals again starting around 8:50). If your French is better, please please use the comments section below to share!

Wonderful Willow

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you haven't already discovered it, Wonderful Willow is an open group on Facebook hosted by Lucienne Kramer from the Netherlands. Here you will find links to posts from willow makers from all over the world. Whether your interests are traditional or contemporary, you're sure to find like minds and lots of inspiration. For example:

One link led me to Piletossen, a Danish-language blog. Read her post on soaking willow in cold water, hot water and steam here. With Google Translate you can paste text copied from the Danish blog and instantly get a translation. You may have to infer some vocabulary from context, but that's more fun than Sudoku.
Another led me to Joan B. Kaar's Willow Bark String Calf (in English).
Lucienne posted this link to an interview with Joe Hogan.

You do have to be a member of Facebook to see this group and send a request to join. If you've been resisting Facebook, this one is worth giving in and joining up.

Whatever Floats Your Boat

2011-09-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

The willow coracle project we've been following had a successful launch party in July.

Organizer Poppy Hatinger reports that 12 paddlers test-paddled the boats, and then they were off to the races -- three heats, semi-finals and a nail-biter of a finish.

Did intimate familiarity with the construction of these vessels provide an edge in the competition? Pshaw! The victor was Karen Tembreull's teenage daughter Abby, who competed with a cast on her broken wrist and a smile on her face.

By all reports, the event was a blast, the boats were a gas, and the builders are planning their next vessels.

You can read more about their project here and here.

Willow Gathering 2012 Info Is Out

2011-08-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the PDF brochure for the 2012 Willow Gathering in Decorah, Iowa. For more info please contact Jo Campbell-Amsler. Don't just mark your calendar for June 21-26: Workshop registration is first come, first served, so claim your spot!

Coracle Project Update

2011-04-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on the Upper Michigan coracle-building project we first reported on last fall. Poppy Hatinger says their first version, made by sticking the stakes directly into the ground and woven with French randing, dried just enough under the snow over the winter that some zip ties had to be tightened. It should dry more now that (we hope) warmer weather is on the way.

The group worked on a second coracle over the winter. Instead of sticking stakes directly into soil, this one was built on a wooden jig.

The seat is enclosed in the weaving on this version.

Spring Fever

2011-03-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

With 16 inches of new snow here last week, my own thoughts of spring have been put on ice for a while. Not so for Poppy Hatinger, who lives even farther north than I do. Last week she sent in two pictures of recently completed garden projects woven from her wild willow harvest before it gets too dry.

This way, she says, at least "something will be blooming" in her garden.

Joe Hogan At The Scottish Gallery

2011-03-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

In April, the Scottish Gallery will present its first show devoted exclusively to the work of a basketmaker. Bare Branches, Blue Black Sky: The Work Of Joe Hogan will be on display April 6-30. You can read about it here.

Joe Hogan

Embrace

2010

willow rods s.purpurea packing twine and bog pine

W:54cm H:66cm D:54cm

Jo Campbell-Amsler's Ireland Adventure

2011-02-22T06:52:00.000-08:00

In September, willow basketmaker Jo Campbell-Amsler will lead a 10-day tour of Ireland that includes a visit with Joe Hogan, a workshop with Alison Fitzgerald, a rush weaving demonstration, garden tours and much more. We'll get more from Jo soon, but I wanted to give you a heads-up on the dates -- September 16-25, 2011. You can see the full trip brochure here. Is your passport up to date?

Latvian Willow Basketmaking Video

2011-02-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

This 12-minute video shows Latvian basketmakers Peteris and Lolita Tutans harvesting, preparing and weaving willow baskets. It includes footage of boiling fresh willow in a wood-fired cooker then peeling the bark for buff willow. You may want to pause the video during the weaving segments to get a closer look at the jigs they use. No need to speak Latvian, since there's no dialog (but a lovely musical score by Janis Miltins).

This came to my attention via Facebook friend Lori Hopkins, by way of Vladimir Dvorak.

Have you discovered videos that show the world of willow? Please share links in the comments!

Historic Willow Coracle Film

2011-02-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Poppy Hatinger for sharing this video based on footage from 1935. It shows two Irish craftsmen build a coracle from willow and an ox hide, then use the craft to set fishing nets in the River Boyne.

Stickwork In Print

2011-01-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

Patrick Dougherty has published a monograph of essays in which he writes about the challenges involved in creating his installations of willow and other weave-able woods. You can order the book at www.stickwork.net. Follow the link into his site and you'll find a wonderful short teaser for a video visual diary shot by a member of the team that worked on Patrick's installation at Chateaubourgh, France. The complete video is available here.

Pruning Living Willow

2011-01-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

Jo Campbell-Amsler gave me a heads-up about Lene Rasmussen's blog Willows: Growing and Working With Willow after a teaching gig in Ontario. Last summer, Lene had a nice post about pruning willow sculpture.

When pinching off the shoots it is important to be careful not to damage the bark on the tree. If the shoot has been left too long you may rip some of the bark off if you "rub" or pull on the shoot - risking that that particular willow rod will die. If the shoots have been allowed to grow too big, it is a good idea to pinch them off with your finger tips or cut them off with a small pruning tool.

You'll find the entire post here, along with tips for getting lovely, bushy crowns like the one shown above.

The Treebog: A Willow Composting Toilet

2011-01-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

In cleaning out some files, I ran across an article on treebogs by Hilary Burns that I tore out of a Basketmakers' Association newsletter. I'm guessing this was published sometime in the mid-1990's -- definitely before You Tube. Thought you might enjoy seeing this video, an article on DIY treebogs, and a PDF on small-scale sewage treatment and composting toilets. Treebogs even rate a Wikipedia entry.

If you've built a treebog, we'd love to hear about it. If you're planning to build one but are not a willow grower, let us know that, too. And if you're a willow grower who would be willing to share cuttings for such a project, please leave a comment to that effect and a way to contact you. The comment button is right below this post.

English Willow Coffins

2011-01-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

Don't miss a slide show of 21 images on Zimbio titled "Sustainable Willow Coffins Are Hand Crafted On The Somerset Levels." The collection includes willow harvest images as well as shots from the weaving workshop.

Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images Europe

Winter Willow & Summer Dreams

2010-12-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

Now that we've passed the winter solstice and the days are getting longer again, willow growers are thinking ahead to the next season. Here's some inspiration from Upper Michigan basketmaker Poppy Hatinger, who shared her willow coracle project last month.

Poppy sent two images of her Abby's House project. It's a living willow structure she named for her granddaughter and built in hopes of sharing time together looking for clovers and caterpillars.

Above is a picture was taken during the summer of the year it was planted.

This was taken the next summer.

This is another living trellis project. Poppy didn't note when it was planted, but did say it needs to be trimmed three or more times a year to keep it under control.

Finally, Poppy sent an image of a trellis in progress using a pizza box jig idea she picked up in a lecture I did a few years back at the Association of Michigan Basketmakers conference. (You can read more about the technique here.)

The snow depth in our area is much deeper now than when Poppy took picture above. Below is my own Scarlett O'Trellis, which was built using the pizza box jig, in a photo from last year.

Here she is today.

Scarlett guards my front flower bed in the winter. She's (usually) tall enough for the snow plow to see to know when to push no farther.

My west willow bed guards has a winter job, as well. It acts as a snow fence to protect the house from blowing and drifting snow.

Are you shoveling snow, watching it rain, or enjoying a beautiful winter day with a couple extra minutes of daylight? Wherever you are, happy holidays to all from Donna, Jo and Joanna!

It's Hip To Be Square

2010-12-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

Sandy Whalen will be teaching squarework at the 2011 Festival of American Basketry in Iowa's historic Amana Colonies. Information about the conference is posted on the Living Willow Workshops Page.

If you've been wanting to tackle squarework, don't miss this opportunity. I made the basket below in a class with Sandy at the Association of Michigan Basketmakers Conference in about 1997 and it's still one of my all-time favorites.

At Amana, Sandy her teach her willow Trinket Trunk as a 2-day workshop. She'll also teach her round Swirl Patio Tray as a 1-day class.

If you have willow workshop information to announce on this site, please email it to donnastitches[at]gmail[dot]com.

Willow Weekend & Other Workshops

2010-12-09T09:50:00.000-08:00

Jo Campbell-Amsler's Step-By-Step Rib-Style Basics

Information about the February 2011 Willow Weekend at the Amana Colonies is now available on the Living Willow Workshops page. We'll let you know when additional events are posted on the page. If you have an upcoming willow workshop you'd like to have listed, please send the info to donnastitches[at]gmail[dot]com.

Coracle Project

2010-12-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

A group of Upper Michigan basketmakers have a willow coracle project under way. According to Poppy Hatinger, the group brainstormed with Jo Campbell-Amsler during the Association of Michigan Basketmakers conference, and decided to make three of the craft.

The first was woven from fresh willow this fall before the ground froze. The frame will spend the winter under weight (and probably covered with snow). In the spring, they will remove the plastic cable ties used to preserve shaping as the willow dries, and lash the joints with basswood bark cordage made by one of the project participants, Karen Tembreull. Then they will cover the frame with canvas, and paint the canvas with waterproofing.

A second coracle will be made this winter using a wooden jig. The third will be woven using dried and resoaked willow for comparison with the first one woven from fresh willow.

As the project progresses, we hope they'll share updates. And this correspondent definitely wants to be on hand when they launch the fleet!

Stonehenge & Willow

2010-12-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

A British engineer and his friends recently tested his theory that baskets woven of willow and alder saplings could have been used to roll the massive standing stones at Salisbury from where they were quarried in Wales.

You can read the story here. Thank you to willow weaver Jacki Bedworth for the heads up on this story.

Patrick Dougherty At Home

2010-10-07T05:56:00.000-07:00

Images by Randy Harris for the New York Times

Yesterday, the New York Times ran a lovely feature on Patrick Dougherty.

“My dream was to build a house. I didn’t realize my real dream, my sub-current, was to become a sculptor.”

In addition to the article, there's a slide show with 17 images.

Living Willow Topiaries

2010-08-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, Jo Campbell-Amsler taught Willow Garden Art at Sievers. Projects included living willow topiaries, like these by some of her students. As summer starts to wind down, we're all hoping to have a bit more time to catch up on posts. In the meantime, we hope you're all having a good growing season!

Got Those Willow Blues?

2010-06-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

At this time of year, the willow doesn't need much attention. It's a good time to visit the Willow Pattern Project for stories and links about Blue Willow patterned china. Do you have a Blue Willow family story?

Katherine Lewis, Willow Basketmaker

2010-06-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

If you've been letting the mail pile up like I have, rummage through the stack to find the article about Katherine Lewis in the Spring 2010 issue of Shuttle Spindle & Dyepot. You can read more about Katherine at her blog.

Willow Biomass Program

2010-05-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

For almost 20 years, the State University of New York (SUNY) Environmental Science and Forestry program has been exploring the use of willow in many areas, including energy production. You'll find articles and video clips here.