9.30am to 5pm

The course

This workshop is suitable for both beginners and those with some experience. Participants will work with a variety of coloured barked willows to create a living seat which will be taken home to plan in your garden. The weave will be a mixture of soaked and freshly coppiced willow from the tutor’s osier beds in West Sussex. Participants will creatively weave a number of traditional weave of colours at your own choice. There will be plenty of opportunity for people to discuss all aspects of willow, from traditional to contemporary, practical growing/coppicing, drying, storing, soaking, tools and techniques.

The tutor

Elaine Kings works alongside Ganesh on living willow project sand willow craft/eco workshops in schools. She is a trained basketmaker and loves experimenting making useful and artistic items out of willow. She has a large involvement in the coppice management side of their willow business.

From a horticultural background and 4 years at sea Ganesh Bruce travelled for 10 years working with community and refugee projects on the Indian sub-continent and teaching in Japan. On his return he became fully involved with ecological and environmental projects both in schools and the private sector. He has worked in various county, conservation wildlife and agricultural groups in West & East Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey and London. He is a local tree warden and is a published author in ecology and pilgrimage.

Either Elaine or Ganesh will tutor the course.

Participant information

This workshop will be limited to 7 participants to ensure that everyone has sufficient individual attention. 
Please wear suitable warm clothing.

Please bring:
A pen and notebook 
Secateurs, Swiss-army style knife and string
Kneeling pad or old cushion and/or small  stool or crate for sitting on whilst weaving.

Please note:  as the chair is a fairly large structure, a largish car or estate car will be needed to transport it home. Please contact the Museum if this is a problem, as we may be able to arrange transport.

Recommended reading

Living willow sculpture, by Jon Warnes
Cane, rush and willow – weaving with natural materials, by Hilary Burns

Fee

£80 per person, to include tuition, teas and coffees. The Museum café will be open or you can bring a packed lunch.

The Museum

The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits.  It is also home to the award winning and innovative Downland Gridshell, which houses a conservation workshop and artefact store, and is also used for many practical courses.  The Museum runs a full programme of courses in historic building conservation and traditional rural trades and crafts, along with MSc programmes in Building Conservation and Timber Building Conservation validated by Bournemouth University. Please telephone for further details.

To book, download a form here. Alternatively, fill in the booking request below.

Make a Booking Request

 
This is an initial booking request form, and does not guarantee a place on the course. The Adult Learning Team will check the availability of the course, and reply to you as soon as possible - usually within one working day.