Canada Weaves

In 1985 I set out to make a living from making functional objects from homegrown, indigenous materials. My aim is to practice using the inherent nature of these materials to the best of my knowledge, ability and experience, continuing to be innovative whilst maintaining the heritage of this craft. I have work features in many collections, I work to commission, teach at all levels in both making and growing and I wrote a book called Willow, a beginners guide to growing and making. In my fourth decade of working with willow I am pleasantly surprised that my passion for my craft continues to be as strong as ever.

Discovering the world of willow, wickerwork and basketry was like finding a new love. The fascination of using my hands, learning an old handicraft and slowly identifying a new world, added a new dimension to my life. I experienced time and again – when my frustration was massive and the baskets no good - suddenly to break through and uncover a new form. To wake up in the middle of the night, my head full of images of baskets, and just know exactly how they were supposed to feel and look. For 30 years I have been teaching basketry in Denmark and other countries. I use the old techniques to create what my hands and heart tell me. For 20 years I have been teaching new design for weaving groups in different countries in Africa.

I have written two books: Bark – a wonderful world, and “Fletterier”

In 2023 I launched the basketry app Baskets2day and Flet Nu.

Insta: anelyngsgaard, baskets_2day

Facebook: Ane Lyngsgaard

My name is Stephen Jerome. I am from the First Nations community of Gesgapegiag in the province of Quebec. I am an ancestral black ash basketmaker. This tradition was taught to me, as a child, by my father Francis Jerome. My father suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and was confined to a wheelchair. He passed away at the age of 54 back in 2002. I thank him every day for these special teachings. The MikMaq tradition of basketmaking lives on through my hands and my heart.

Mel Bastier is a willow artist and basketmaker specialising in large-scale sculpture. She is the owner of Out to Learn Willow, through which she provides engaging classes and workshops for both adults and children.

With more than 20 years of experience working with willow, Mel has created a wide range of installations and sculptures, including commissions for the BBC, Royal Horticultural Society and National Trust. Her work combines traditional weaving techniques with an imaginative approach to scale, form and place.

Mel is passionate about keeping the traditional skills of willow weaving alive and accessible, sharing her knowledge through quality instruction, hands-on learning and empathetic support. Whether she is teaching a complete beginner or creating a large-scale installation, her enthusiasm for the craft knows no bounds.

Her favourite phrase? “Go big or go home.”

Joan Carrigan is a full-time basket maker and basketry teacher who has woven her basketry life on Salt Spring Island, BC for over 30 years. Joan studied Fine Art and Art History at the University of Guelph and attended her first Basketry Conference in Toronto in 1991. Since then, her passion for this ancient art form has led her to study, travel, and explore many different techniques and materials. Her research into traditional skills inspires her use of plant materials she respectfully harvests from nature, while her background in fine art fuels her enthusiasm for the sculptural and creative potential that the medium offers. Joan teaches extensively and finds this to be a very rewarding aspect of her career.

Peter started to learn basic basketry from his father-in-law in the mid 1990's, since then he has been self taught and a full-time maker since 1997.

Peter’s style is inspired from the many baskets he has seen over the years, combining traditional methods and his own techniques. He also grows many of the willows he weaves with, having inherited the willow bed from his father-in-law. Being involved in the basket making process from start to finish gives him great satisfaction.

In-situ willow fencing was a large part of Peter’s work, but less so in recent years to allow him to step into the world of teaching. He gives one to one classes from his workshop in Norwich, he has been a tutor at all three Tear Up Festivals and other UK venues, he’s also taught in France & Germany and is very much looking forward to teaching at Canada Weaves.

We are deeply honored to welcome Burlington Tooshkenig as an instructor for this basketry workshop. Burlington is an Anishinaabe artist from Walpole Island First Nation in Ontario, Canada, who learned the art of sweetgrass basketry from his grandmother. Driven to keep this traditional craft alive, he has mastered and expanded his practice to include birch bark and black ash basketry, embellishing his creations with porcupine quillwork, beadwork, spruce root, stonework, and shell work.

A passionate educator, Burlington shares Indigenous art forms with a global audience. His celebrated work has been acquired by institutions such as the Indigenous Art Centre at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Art Bank, with art sales spanning across the globe.

A Yeoman Basket Maker & Sculptor Eddie weaves dreams in his workshop based in Derbyshire UK.

He never imagined that basket making would become his career and passion.  After spending two years training with his father Peter Glew, as well as attending courses Peter had arranged for Ed before he passed, Ed spent a further two years honing his craft.   

After Ed gained a full scholarship through The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust he went on to study under Sally Goymer for a further two years.  Ed absorbed every bit of knowledge and experience he could from Sally, learning about precision basket making, made to measure skills and expertise in square work.

Ed’s true passion and purpose is making useful and timeless items using the skills he learnt from his father Peter, Sally and many others.  He loves the challenge of working on bespoke commissions and bringing abstract ideas to life, working with creativity and imagination.

Best of all he gets to share his skills and teach the next generation of willow weavers. 

Passing on the baton as his father did for him.    

Some of Ed’s clients for his custom work include Fortnum & Mason, Disney, J.W. Anderson, Alton Towers, Asprey’s of London, Nando’s, The National Trust, Kirsty Allsopp, BBC, Channel 4, Warwick Castle, Windsor Castle, The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers, The Garnered, CLEAVE Court Jewellers

“We are but guardians of this ancient craft’