More about Basketmaker Maggie

Basketmaker Maggie Evans will be coming to Tecstiliau in Bethel in December.

"Since I retired from being an art teacher in schools, I do full time basketmaking, whether making or teaching or selling or exhibiting. I first learned basketmaking from Mandy Coates on a course at Glynllifon and then I studied rush weaving with Felicity Irons of ‘Rush Matters’. I also took a City & Guilds qualification in Basketry.

"The rushes we'll be using - sometimes known as English Rush or English Bulrush - is a material that people have used for a long time. Rushes would have been commonly used for shoes, hats, bags, seating and floor matting. You would find big rush mats in grand old houses, especially in corridors. It is a heritage craft and there aren't that many rush makers around now!

"This rush grows in fresh flowing water. But you can only harvest rush from certain places in the UK, and you have to be a member of the Basket Makers Association.

"There is only one merchant in the UK and they are based in Bedfordshire, which is a bit of a trek from Anglesey. I harvested the rush we are using in the workshops from a secret location at a private garden in Cheshire. It has been so exciting to me to be able to cut the rush myself, dry it and use it. This batch is weaving beautifully.

"For the pouch we are also going to use reedmace and bark. The reedmace - also known as Bullrush or Cattail - has been harvested from a pond in Llangoed and the Henllys Golf Course in Beaumaris. The bark that we'll be using will be either eucalyptus from trees at Plas Newydd or it will be a locally harvested willow bark.

"Anglesey has a Marram grass tradition which some are hoping to revive. Marram grass weaving was common around Newborough, where it grows on the dunes, and it was often used to make ropes or to make covers to go over haystacks. However Marram grass is a short-staple grass processed through coiling and plaiting techniques, whereas the common club-rush and reedmace are longer and have a different texture, and so require different techniques.

"I also enjoy exploring basketry as art. I’m currently working on a piece for the Storiel Open Art call out, combining woven structure with clay and sand from my local beach. It’s an exploration of forms that I see when out walking. I’m also working on a piece for the Plas Glyn-y-Weddw ‘Coed Coexist’ project, using Beech.

"In December I am teaching two workshops for Tecstiliau. The first workshop is making a rectangular pouch, weaving with a combination of rush, reedmace and bark. The second workshop is making a round basket, using a circular technique. "

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