Meadow Weave: Wakehurst Residency, 2014 (8)
Take Two. I knew with a kind of resigned certainty, even before I reached home as I was driving back from Wakehurst the day it all fell apart, that there was nothing for it but to start all over again....
View ArticleMeadow Weave: Wakehurst Residency, 2014 (9)
Wild & Hairy Hay Rope. The making is nearing completion out here in the barn at Wakehurst, in my Meadow Weave residency. The looping technique I’m using with the hay rope I’ve been making is...
View ArticleMeadow Weave: Wakehurst Residency, 2014 (10)
The piece: space, ropes, connection. From the start it was a delight to be invited to be artist in residence here at Wakehurst, working with their meadow plants. I’m in my element with the challenge...
View ArticleMeadow Weave: Wakehurst Residency, 2014 (11)
Hay Wisperer. I’ve discovered another, interesting use for hay rope. Hay wisps. The Working Horse Trust are at Wakehurst and the horses are turning the hay down in Bloomers Valley, my favourite of...
View ArticleMeadow Weave: Wakehurst Residency, 2014 (12)
Connections: ropes and a robin. I first came across Jon Young about 5 years ago. He’s a renowned mentor for nature connection and community-building, and is also a published author. He has a...
View ArticleMeadow Weave: Wakehurst Residency, 2014 (13)
The Green Bough. “Keep a green bough in your heart and a singing bird will come” Lao Tzu. It’s mid December, a bright cold day, and I’m back at Wakehurst to collect the written messages tied to the...
View ArticleStonehenge: Neolithic houses for Neolithic basketry
I’m delighted to have been invited by English Heritage to run some staff training at Stonehenge in Neolithic-style basketry. They recently constructed a number of Neolithic style dwellings on site...
View ArticleStonehenge: Neolithic Style Basketry
During the Neolithic time at Stonehenge, there would have been willows growing on the banks of the river Avon, which ran right by the houses situated at nearby Durrington Walls. These are the...
View ArticleA Song for all Foraging
It’s a busy time for foraging plant materials right now. The plants have made all the vegetative growth they’re going to make this year. And now they’re setting seed. Over the past months I’ve logged...
View ArticleNests in Nets
I’ve returned to Wakehurst on a bright autumn day to see if the rumours are true. One of my areas of research for this project was looking at nests. And that’s why I’m back today. I’ve heard birds...
View ArticleWild Pottery
Of all the crafts I practise and teach, Wild Pottery has qualities that are unlike any other, which make it utterly compelling. It’s an exciting (sometimes nerve-wracking) process that’s elemental and...
View ArticleWild Pottery: Clay- digging your own
One of the things that makes our Wild Pottery courses ‘wild’ is that we dig our own clay from the land What is Clay? Ask this of anyone and they’ll most likely reply ‘mud’. But there’s a bit more to it...
View ArticleForaging Plants for Wild Basketry; weaving a connection between land and self
‘Plants are integral to reweaving the connection between land and people. A place becomes a home when it sustains you, when it feeds you in body as well as spirit.’ (Robin Wall Kimmerer) There’s an...
View ArticleAsh Pack Basket
For ages I’ve been wanting to make a pack, or back, basket from wood splints. They’re best made in the spring when the sap’s rising, so earlier this year I took a trip to the woods near Bath for a few...
View ArticleWakehurst 2017: Space Between
Space Between is a recently commissioned, site-specific woodland sculpture at Wakehurst, (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew). It’s situated in Pearcelands Wood, their newly-opened ancient woodland. It was...
View ArticleLooped Cordage: Netted Bags
After a day of making cordage from foraged plant fibres, my grubby fingernails show evidence of all the separating and scraping. Once you’re committed to the steady, repetitive nature of prepping and...
View ArticleFibre & Clay in the Wild
In conversation with No Serial Number Magazine, a publication which explores environmental sustainability through traditional crafts and innovative design. We discuss my practice: my relationship to...
View ArticleArchaeologists Making Baskets
A crisp cold November morning and I’m meeting a group of archaeologists at Fort Cumberland in Portsmouth for a day of basketmaking. During our discussions and through the making itself, a couple of...
View ArticleMaking an Oak Swill
One of the first things you notice about Owen Jones, apart from his friendly, relaxed demeanor, is his hands: huge and work-worn. They’ve definitely seen some years of graft. I’m at his workshop in...
View ArticleForage of the Month- September
Nettle Seeds Nettles are a truly amazing plant. I recently found out about the ‘super food’ that is nettle seeds, and have been making the most of the nettle patch at the end of the garden ever since....
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