Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

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It's not that long ago that buying, selling, carrying, fishing, storing, building and measuring were reliant on a basket be it homemade or bought from a professional basket maker,  life depended on them.

 

There is great satisfaction in planting a cutting of willow, watching it grow, harvesting it and then weaving it into something both beautiful and functional.  I use traditional techniques of willow basketmaking whilst exploring new ideas and form.

 

Using soft plant fibres to make baskets requires different skills and techniques; looping, coiling, twining and plaiting.  Leaves, grasses and rush growing all around us provide an unlimited natural resource each one with its own unique qualities and beauty.
 

I am a member of the Scottish Basketmakers' Circle (SBC),  the Basketmakers' Association (BA), the Heritage Crafts Association (HCA) and the Heckleburn Quines (HQ);  an artist and makers' collective based in Banchory,  Aberdeenshire (www.heckleburnquines.co.uk)