Threads 91:A visit to BC
Annabel Stanley and Ankaret Dean in Annabels's Studio
I have just spent the last two weeks on a trip to B.C. With my daughter Pippa (), including a train ride across our wonderful country and visits to Vancouver, Seattle, Nelson and Lake Country! Of course I searched for baskets. Smaller art galleries in Grand Forks, Nelson and Lake Country intrigued us. Toronto's Craft house on Queen St., Nelson's Craft Connection, and the Rotary Centre in Kelowna were all vibrant, including coil baskets. We missed big Art Galleries and Museums in Vancouver and Seattle but visiting western family was the priority in our short time.
Our chance encounter with fibre art courses at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna was very lucky! This included a felting and basketry workshop. It was there that we met Annabel Stanley teaching a willow basket workshop. Annabel graciously found time to have a chat and a couple of days later Pippa and I visited her in her studio in West Kelowna. See her website at http://www.annabelstanley.com/.
Here, perched on the side of the valley, Annabel's studio overlooks her vineyard. It is filled with willow, willow baskets, grapevine globes, various interesting sculptures and hanging pieces. She spends a lot of time teaching adults and children, and has developed an interesting technique for teaching a willow basket in one day. To do this, she uses a galvanized fencing wire covered with brown floral tape instead of using stakes. She uses the wire as one would a Rod, she then works it into the centre alongside each spoke on the base, then bends it to make a side stake or upright. At the end of weaving up the sides she bends the wire at a 90 degree angle and trims it off to about just less than an inch and then clamps it tight. To form the sides of the basket, it is much easier than using willow stakes. Of course the border is simplified using an interesting weaving technique. She often uses driftwood- or at this workshop sad dead grapevine stems to make the handle (sadly a cold spell in the winter killed the vines!). Because of the strength and size of the wire the sides can be beaten down, are very strong and shrinkage is not a problem.
A Quail sculpture made by Annabel Stanley
I think it would make some traditional basket makers cringe, but I can see it is an easy and viable way to make a basket and it can be taught in one day. I also found her use of wire very interesting in her sculptural pieces. Here Annabel uses a more pliable wire called rebar wire. It is used in the orchards/vineyards for tying up vines. She forms the shape of a bird, and then covers it with random weaving using fine willow or dogwood etc. See the photo of the quail sculpture below.
Lovebird Sculpture
My daughter and I bought the recommended rebar wire on the way to her home and started playing with it that afternoon. On my first day home in McDonald's Corners I couldn’t wait to finish. I had a wedding anniversary in a couple of days, so I made two lovebirds on a perch using her technique. Annabel had been so generous in sharing her various techniques and I was thrilled to find a kindred spirit in basketry who also knows of my old haunts in England. See my pair of lovebirds using the wire technique.
With thanks to Annabel and Pippa!