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    • Contact
  • Activities and Events
  • Workshops
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  • Members
    • HELEN ANDREWS
    • JANICE BROOKLYN
    • CHRISTIANE GUNZI
    • DEBBIE HALL
    • TANIA KEANE
    • KAREN LAWRENCE
    • SUSANNA LONGLEY
    • JUDY LYLE
    • POLLY POLLOCK
    • SALLY ROACH
    • GAIL ROMANES
    • CHRISTIANE SAND
    • ANITA VOZIK
    • GARETH WILLIAMS

The Basketry Collective

Susanna Longley

Why Weave?

Weaving, whether its paper, fabric, rush, grass or willow is making something out of nothing; one minute you have a more or less wild mess of natural stuff and the next, with a bit of human intervention, you have an organized system, a more or less beautiful and/or functional sculpture.  To me its a way of presenting and appreciating natural materials and seeing them in a different way.  I like to keep my interventions as simple and minimal as possible – to see how little I can do to render the material expressive in some way.
 
Art and Craft Teaching through Weaving
 
As a medium for teaching art, weaving with natural and readily available materials has many advantages:
 
- Physically active - the craft of weaving involves physical activity — flexing the rods and manipulating the weavers requires and develops upper body strength and manual dexterity

- Inclusive - willow weaving doesn’t suffer from stereotyping – its not felt to be childish or just for men or women

- Historically interesting - the skills learnt are based on a traditional craft developed over hundreds of years, examples of which can be seen throughout the world 

- Green and clean - the willow supplied is grown in the UK without the use of pesticides or fertilisers.  It is a sustainable crop, the same plants being harvested year after year.
 
- Accessible – its easy and cheap to make something useful and attractive.

Susanna runs art classes for adults and children.


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  • HOME
    • Contact
  • Activities and Events
  • Workshops
  • Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Summer Fair
  • Achievements
  • Members
    • HELEN ANDREWS
    • JANICE BROOKLYN
    • CHRISTIANE GUNZI
    • DEBBIE HALL
    • TANIA KEANE
    • KAREN LAWRENCE
    • SUSANNA LONGLEY
    • JUDY LYLE
    • POLLY POLLOCK
    • SALLY ROACH
    • GAIL ROMANES
    • CHRISTIANE SAND
    • ANITA VOZIK
    • GARETH WILLIAMS