Image 1-6 [credits below]
Craft residency, 2021
⭢ Dalhausen, Germany
•
Sept. 14.–15.
Learning with Scottish basket maker,
Pascal Carr
A ‘creel’ (cliabh in Gaelic) is a general term covering several forms of Scottish and Irish baskets. It is a traditional back basket used to carry loads such as seaweed, peat, fish and even babies. Depending on the types, creel can be carried over short and long distances.
To quote Julie Gurr, “The creels used in the Highlands and Islands were usually made of willow with an open ‘band’ mid-way up the side, called the briagan or breugan in Gaelic, that could be used to put a strap through to help carry it, or for helping someone mount the creel on the back.”
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Workshop organised by Flechtsommer Dalhausen
Originally, the ‘creel basket’ was made on the ground, with the stakes stuck into the earth to secure it. Since this method is physically demanding, a wooden template is used so that work can be done at table height. A creel is made with a flat bottom that can stand upright on the ground and be used as a wood or storage basket. Basic techniques of a creel — mouthwale, top-knot, creel weave, inserted windows, packed base and twisted handle — are learned here.
Pascal taught us the construction of a D-shaped creel. This was taught to him by Joe Hogan. Joe is an Irish basketmaker, teacher, and author of “Basketmaking in Ireland”. A record of Irish traditional baskets are written by him in account to their history and uses. It is highly recommend to readers who are interested in Great Britain's traditional crafts.
What makes the form and making of the creel so distinctive comparing to other willow baskets?
Some common features of most creels are an open area, usually about halfway up the creel, variously called the window, the eye, or the gills of the creel. The protruding stakes at the top give the creel a distinctive appearance. This is the result when the creel is pulled out of the ground and turned upright, after the sides and base of the creel is woven [2]. Another distinction found on a creel (the donkey creel for example) includes a base which could be opened and the load can be released. Different techniques in different creels apply to different function.
Aside hand strength being my Achilles' heel, it was great for me, yet again to acknowledge the importance of right handling. The relationship between craftspeople and nature if often close, but for basketry the link is simple and direct; using material cut from the ground, dried, soaked, then manipulated by hand.
Hogan explains the most unforgivable thing in basketry is to “kink your rod”; in essence one must leave no trace of force, as if in the best baskets nature somehow colludes with the maker. To use strength but not force, to create that sense of ease within the work, is one of the most challenging things to learn: “It’s almost as thought you begin to learn from the rod.
References
[1] Julie Gurr, “What we know about back and pony creels of the Highlands and Islands", Woven Communities
[2] Joe Hogan, “Basketmaking in Ireland”, Joseph Burridge Books, UK 2001
Image credit
[1] Graphic by Evey Kwong
[2] A peat stack in Ness on the Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides, Scotland), Maclomhair, 2007
[3] John Gillies with his sons Callum and Ian, carrying peat creels near their home on Eilean Fladday, off Raasay. Gairloch Museum and Archive
[4] Pony with panniers, Eriskay by Margaret Fay Shaw, Edinburgh Central Library & Am Baile
[5] Utensils found in a croft house, Edinburgh Central Library & Am Baile
[6] D-Shaped Scottish west coast creel by Catherine Davies
Image 1-6 [credits below]
Craft residency, 2021
⭢ Dalhausen, Germany
Sept. 14.–15.
Learning with Scottish basket maker,
Pascal Carr
•
A ‘creel’ (cliabh in Gaelic) is a general term covering several forms of Scottish and Irish baskets. It is a traditional back basket used to carry loads such as seaweed, peat, fish and even babies. Depending on the types, creel can be carried over short and long distances. To quote Julie Gurr, “The creels used in the Highlands and Islands were usually made of willow with an open ‘band’ mid-way up the side, called the briagan or breugan in Gaelic, that could be used to put a strap through to help carry it, or for helping someone mount the creel on the back.”
Originally, the ‘creel basket’ was made on the ground, with the stakes stuck into the earth to secure it. Since this method is physically demanding, a wooden template is used so that work can be done at table height. A creel is made with a flat bottom that can stand upright on the ground and be used as a wood or storage basket. Basic techniques of a creel — mouthwale, top-knot, creel weave, inserted windows, packed base and twisted handle — are learned here.
Pascal taught us the construction of a D-shaped creel. This was taught to him by Joe Hogan. Joe is an Irish basketmaker, teacher, and author of “Basketmaking in Ireland”. A record of Irish traditional baskets are written by him in account to their history and uses. I highly recommend this book to readers who are interested in Great Britain's traditional crafts.
What makes the form and making of the creel so distinctive comparing to other willow baskets?
Some common features of most creels are an open area, usually about halfway up the creel, variously called the window, the eye, or the gills of the creel. The protruding stakes at the top give the creel a distinctive appearance. This is the result when the creel is pulled out of the ground and turned upright, after the sides and base of the creel is woven [2]. Another distinction found on a creel (the donkey creel for example) includes a base which could be opened and the load can be released. Different techniques in different creels apply to different function.
Aside hand strength being my Achilles' heel, it was great for me, yet again to acknowledge the importance of right handling. The relationship between craftspeople and nature if often close, but for basketry the link is simple and direct; using material cut from the ground, dried, soaked, then manipulated by hand.
Hogan explains the most unforgivable thing in basketry is to “kink your rod”; in essence one must leave no trace of force, as if in the best baskets nature somehow colludes with the maker. To use strength but not force, to create that sense of ease within the work, is one of the most challenging things to learn: “It’s almost as thought you begin to learn from the rod.
References
[1] Julie Gurr, “What we know about back and pony creels of the Highlands and Islands", Woven Communities
[2] Joe Hogan, “Basketmaking in Ireland”
Image credit
[1] Graphic by Evey Kwong
[2] A peat stack in Ness on the Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides, Scotland), Maclomhair, 2007
[3] John Gillies with his sons Callum and Ian, carrying peat creels near their home on Eilean Fladday, off Raasay. Gairloch Museum and Archive
[4]Pony with panniers, Eriskay by Margaret Fay Shaw courtesy of Edinburgh Central Library & Am Baile
[5] Utensils found in a croft house, Edinburgh Central Library & Am Baile
[6] D-Shaped Scottish west coast creel by Catherine Davies