BLOG 467

Blog 467

 

On Friday I went on a willow weaving workshop with a friend.  I have had a go at this before and on that occasion I made a hare which still sits indoors on the top of a kitchen cupboard. It is in the same condition as the day I made it. I have always wanted to make a sheep for the garden so I went to a class taught by Caroline Gregson at the Castle Arts Centre in Frodsham. We had a great day and it is testament to the quality of the teaching that everyone left with a different willow animal under their arm! Here is the sequence of stages I had to go through to produce my ‘sheep’! It is a bit of a hybrid but it will look good outdoors on the lawn next spring.

 

 

           Raw materials

 

             Circles

 

            Combined

 

            Sphere

 

 

           Two spheres

 

 

            Three spheres

 

 

             Body

 

 

              Legs

 

 

          Nose

 

          Sheep (Not quite right but it is MY version of not quite right!)

 

 

 

          Cat

 

 

          Chicken

 

              Teacher and Guck

 

This was my friend’s master piece and she couldn’t decide whether it looked like a goose or a duck so she chose the name ‘Guck’ over ‘Doose’!!)

 

               Teacher’s chicken and reference book

 

 

             Fox

 

               Finished ?sheep?

 

 

             Teacher’s dog

 

 

And this workshop prompted me to make a start on another garden sculpture. For Christmas last year, I bought a festive deer which was made out of metal struts and wrapped with a raffia type material. It served its decorative purpose and has been hanging around since because I wanted to try and cover it in moss. Moss is something we have in abundance in the garden so all the raw materials were to hand, especially after the rain we have experienced lately.  It has taken me ten months to get around to it but I have now had a go. This is another project-in-progress as all my projects are and at this stage I don’t know whether it is going to be successful. The moss is held in place with garden twine and the deer will be put somewhere sheltered and damp for a while to see if the moss starts to grow to the frame! This is the sort of thing I like to fiddle with!

 

 

            Moss deer

 

 

As I was taking the picture of the deer, I was reminded that I had made a willow plant hanger a few years ago and this is now inverted over a pot of ivy to support its growth. I also tried unsuccessfully to make a willow animal on my own last year using willow cut from a neighbour’s wood but it wasn’t easy to work with. So I made a large ball and this too supports a pot of ivy. I think I am willowed out now and will be glad to return to the softness of fabric as opposed to the rough and tough manipulation that is willow weaving!!

 

           Willow plant support

 

 

           Willow ball