Basket Weaving!
This week we had the fabulous chance to take part in a basket weaving class! I absolutely love crafts and the urge to create things from start to finish has been greatly enhanced at the Ecovillage. I have been overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to ask more questions, engaging myself to a more fuller extent in the processes and becoming a greater inquirer than I was before. I believe that this is manifesting from the vast amount of hands on experiences being offered at the Ecovillage and the accessibility to knowledgeable people and resources so that I can experiment in my own way with a variety of activities. This is how information is retained, and how students actually become interested and invested in their own learning. This is how a student becomes an inquirer and critical thinker.
Basket weaving was taught by Maria Curtis, a basket weaver who owns Raven’s Joy Basketry. A key feature of the Ecovillage’s education program that I will strive to do as a teacher is the constant incorporation of the community. Maria brought prototype baskets for us to view and provided us with an instructional package on how to basket weave, which I was super excited about for it will help me when I potentially decide to teach basket weaving to a future class. She explained that there are three to four different types of baskets: Splint, Wicker, Coiling and Rib. We were going to be making Rib baskets where rings would be created as the structural components and the frame would be further enhanced with spokes. All materials are soaked in water to allow them to be pliable enough to bend and shape.
Step 1: Build the Rings
The rings were built using whillow branches from a local forest that were harvested and dried. I bent and twisted the branches around each other until I got my desired size, shape, and and thickness of ring. If the basket was going to have a handle, two rings were created to form the basic structure, however, I wanted to make a low basket without a handle so I only made one ring.
Step 2: Lash spokes to ring
A base spoke was created using two rods, twisted together to build strength, and bent to create the desired depth of the base of the basket. This was then lashed to the main ring. There are a variety of methods to lash hoops and rods together and the one I used for this basket is called “X-lashing”. I really gravitated to the cedar strips as a material to incorporate into my basket because of my previous cedar plank preparation experience at the Ecovillage (I wanted to continue that experience into creating a product). The thickness of the cedar also worked really well for the lashing and even though Maria was an expert at basket weaving she too experienced some moments of exploration, emphasizing the continual spiral of learning that occurs when perfecting a skill and expanding a knowledge area.
We were given the opportunity to choose a variety of materials, and make what ever our hearts desired. I wanted to make something that would be useful in my personal life and I wanted to experiment with a variety of materials to stretch my capabilities.
Step 3: Inserting Ribs into X lashings
This was a bit trickier for me because I used the cedar strips and the thickness of the strips combined with the tight weaving made it difficult to find openings to place the ribs. I used a few tools to help me create openings in the lashing and played with the positioning of the ribs until the basket sat properly on a table.
Step 4: Packing
This is the fun part after all the ribs are in place! I chose a variety of cordage, some made from local cattails dried and woven. I am really happy to say that some of the cordage used in my basket was created at the Ecovillage by the community members I have grown to love. I am so happy to be able to bring home a piece of material harvested and created sustainably from the village. The material is woven over and under each rib and can be packed tightly or loosely. Weaving was done at one end, and then continued on the other to ensure the same length was attained on each side.
Basket weaving was a fantastic learning opportunity and the process of weaving was very hypnotic, and rhythmic. I surprised myself at how focused I was on the project and how attentive I became to detail. The whole basket weaving process was very relaxing, enhanced my ability to be patient, and built on my creative capabilities. I developed a design and a style of basket that was entirely created through passion and desire. If you asked me what compelled me to create certain patterns, and use certain materials, I would say that it all really stemmed from a natural feeling inside me that I followed in a direction that just felt right to me.
UBC team’s baskets
