Willow in Ireland
Day 01
Just landing in Shannon, Ireland. I'm here to take a four-day class taught by Joe Hogan, weaving with willow. I found Joe Hogan through online. His work, both in traditional Irish basketry as well as his contemporary artistic woven work, are simply astounding. He has been weaving for 40+ years. When I first inquired about taking a class with him he had concerns because I hadn't worked with willow before. He told me it was a very different material. I thought I could handle it. Luckily I listened enough that I went ahead and purchased some willow to try weaving a couple baskets. Joe was right. Willow is completely different. Working with the all natural material is, for an novice, both exciting (maybe you have to like basketmaking to find it exciting but it is) but also frustrating. Willow is different as it's very close to the state you find it in nature; it has something of a mind of its own. So now I find myself in Galway, spending the day heading towards Ma'am Cross, and eventually Loch NaFooey.
When I was in my early 20s, working in theater, I built a bunch of furniture after-hours. I worked min wood and steel; some of the pieces were rather good, others adolescent attempts at 'art.' At that time I had this idea that it would be exciting travel the world and learn how to build furniture in different countries from different furniture makers. I wanted to explore, and learn, and be exposed to a wide variety of styles and methods of making.
As I look back today, I realize that it was this desire to learn, more than a desire to travel or even to become a furniture maker, that put this idea in my head. I liked learning new ways of making then, and I still do today. So here I am some 27 years later in another country going to learn how to make something. Honestly, it gives me goosebumps to think that I am doing this. I didn't make this trip consciously with those memories in mind, they only came back to me later. But now I realize I spent all this time to get back to where I started.
Galway was a nice walk about. Reminded me in large part of other European cities I have visited. The cathedral, Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, was a special moment. It was a bit rainy, and I was a bit wet and getting cold. I will often go into Catholic churches when I travel because it reminds me of my Mom. We would go into churches and light candles and she would pray (I would look about at the architecture). So I found myself in the cathedral and a mass was underway. I sat, with my backpack, and rested and dried off. See the crazy purple dome pictures below.
Eventually i boarded the bus to Ma'am Cross where Mr. Hogan was to pick me up. His greeting was warm, and we drove back to his farm and the cottage I would be staying in. Time for some food and sleep. Tomorrow we weave.
Day 02
First day of weaving.
I'm staying in the hazel cottage, which is right next to the studio where we will be weaving. There's a couple from England in the house with me. Before he said good night, Joe asked us to think about what we wanted to weave tomorrow, (today). I found these two bulbous baskets I'm very interested in. The curve of the basket rises out of the ground. Yet is also feels like some great weight is pressing from above. That contradiction might be creating a tension or energy drawing me in. So with this type of basket you don't 'nick' the uprights so they can bend at a sharp angle. It's what you see on straight sided willow baskets (or any straight sided basket for that matter). I want to know how to create that tension.
Walking outside and its morning in Ireland. And we are far, far out in the country. No cell service, but Joe's brought in the Internet so we are still connected. And it's green. And the lake is so blue.
Willow all different colors is stacked by the studio. lots of cool patterns and textures, wood, tons of baskets. Joe came by early and got the stove going, with peat of course to heat up the studio a bit. It's a bit damp here.
It's really just a marvelous day. Lots of culture shock. And amazement at what Joe brings to the studio. But also the other weavers who all have a considerable experience weaving with willow; a bit daunting for a novice like me. But I find if you smile, ask a lot of questions, and don't hide your ignorance then everyone is ready to share knowledge. Each of us is working on his or her own project, so we have to wait a bit to get help from Joe. I need a lot of help because I don't really even know where to start. That was okay. I find I can learn a lot just from listening to what he is telling others.
Around noon we took a break for tea. Of course I just wanted to keep working. But I have to say that slowing down, getting a chance to speak with other weavers, and getting out of the studio for 30 minutes is good thing. Joe made coffee and tea, and we had cookies and biscuits and everyone chatted. Sometimes slow and steady wins the race.
I got the base of my basket done today and the sides curved upward. It was a nice place to get to. I even started weaving the sides, and got a fair amount of that done too. I think I went a bit high in the end; I was just so excited to be weaving, and there was 'extra' on the uprights so I just kept going. You can see in the pictures that the proportions are a bit off. I could have stopped 2 sets earlier (a 'set' being the introduction of a new set of weavers). So many things learned, and lots of notes in my notebook. One thing to note: in the picture where you see the tall uprights tied together by three wires, Joe calls that a swan's neck. It kind of looks like a swan's neck doesn't it? I look forward to finishing my basket tomorrow. I'm in Ireland weaving Willow!!! Lucky me. Overwhelming really.
Day 03
Day 3 in Ireland, and I'm up early to walk along Loch NaFooey. What an amazing valley this is. Lots of green, contrasting with the blue of the water and the blue sky, such amazing clouds. And lots and lots of sheep. Some sheep, which were out on the road, mistook me for a farmer and started walking towards me. As I walked away they came faster and faster, it was a bit scary (I can imagine my kids laughing at me as I write this). I figured out later they thought I was there to feed them...not a pack of rabid sheet as first thought. Whew. Good morning Ireland.
Today I finished the rim of my first bulbous basket. Creating the rim is an interesting process that's all about weaving under previous elements. In a sense one upright helps to capture others, locking them together, and creates this wonderful spiral.
After lunch Joe took us to the willow fields and explained how it grows and how it's planted. He really does live the basket weavers life.
Day 04
Day 4 finds me getting up late. I am exhausted. I'm not sure if it's the travel or just struggling with the willow, but in any event I'm tired. It's a good kind of tired I suppose, but certainly not a relaxing vacation sort of tired. But then I didn't come here for a vacation, did I?
Yesterday, I got the next base for my second attempt at a bulbous basket started. Today I began the day by inserting the uprights and starting to create the rounded form again. Joe took me a little to task for not getting enough inset depth to my base. You really want 2" of upward rise to it. This helps the basket sit flat when done, but in this case it more importantly sets up the round curve of the basket. I need to push the willow, not be scared of hurting it.
It really is a bit daunting to struggle with the willow as a material. It can take so much abuse, and I'm simply not used to that. I think of the fineness in the black ash baskets I made with JoAnn Catsos at Arrowmont...but that doesn't work here. Here you need to show the willow who is boss. I need to be tougher, less scared of hurting the material or damaging my work.
Other folks in the class continue to push their projects forward, and it really is wonderful to see. Even those with lots of experience are learning so much from Mr. Hogan, and he does it all with such ease and joy. He clearly is doing what he was meant to do both in weaving and in teaching.
I did get the sides for this basket started today, although I didn't take enough pictures of that. The weaving is a 4-rod French rand. If you look at the images you can start to see how this is created. Basically the weaving starts with one rod and then a second and a third and finally a fourth is added in as you go. It looks as though weaving is expanding as you go; and then is reduced again as I near the top. It's as though the weaving is fading in and out...a really lovely thing. Should be able to get this one done tomorrow.
Day 05
Day 5 and we come to the end. Today was our last day of weaving with Mr. Joe Hogan. I had an opportunity to finish a basket, as well as start and finish another one. As always, I bit off a bit more than I could chew, but what's new with that. I learned a lot, and although the third basket is clearly the roughest of the three, it afforded me the opportunity to work with some of the natural colors of willow that Joe grows on his own farm.
The bulbous basket I was working on, known as an Irish log basket, can be seen in the pictures. Here the randing is complete, as well as the rim. You see a couple pictures of Joe adding handles to my basket. There wasn't enough time for him to teach me this, so he used mine as an example for some other more experienced basket makers so they could make their own twisted handles. Quite a process. I was very proud to be able to say that the handles in my basket were made by Mr. Joe Hogan. Joe was less enthusiastic, and not super happy with the way they turned out. He told me not to let anyone know he made them. But I think he was joking, at least I hope he was.
After completing the log basket, I made a Irish skib This is a traditional Irish potato basket. It's used like a sieve so that the pot of boiling potatoes is poured into the basket, the water runs off, and the basket holding the cooked potatoes is brought to the table. Once there everyone serves themselves from the basket.
All the color that you see here is natural, no dyes, just different species of willow that Joe grows on his farm. I really wanted to bring some of that home so I made sure to make one of these baskets. It's a bit rough on the edges and finishing because by the time I got to it class was over, Joe had gone home, and I was on my own. But all in all it's pretty good, and certainly a wonderful keepsake of my time in Ireland.
Tomorrow morning I get on the bus and head back to Galway, eventually on to Shannon, and then the day after that I'll catch a plane home. I'm incredibly tired but incredibly fulfilled. What an amazing experience to be able to travel across the ocean and share this time with these people. And to learn so much from this master was just incredible. I have been given a gift and I hope some of the work that I accomplished here is worthy of that gift. Let's go home.