City Lit basketry

What is the course about?

This foundation course covers a wide range of basketry techniques, and on completion leads to a City Lit Basketry Course Certificate. The course is taught one day a week over two years and will introduce you to a broad range of basketry techniques in a wide variety of material, take you through elements of design, sampling and processing of materials, touch upon ethnographic, historical and contemporary aspects of basketmaking all of which will help the development of your ideas and understanding of basketry.

You will work towards producing a body of basketry, samples, and a number of final pieces to be the basis of an exhibition at the end of the course. You will be expected to undertake up to 6 hours a week of independent work in order to meet the course requirements.

What will we cover?

You will learn techniques such as stake and strand, twining, plaiting and coiling in willow, rush and cane, jute and other twines and cords as well as less traditional materials such as wire, card and paper, and be encouraged to develop your skills and experimental work in areas that interest you.

You will consider elements of design and aspects of visual research and will work towards producing a number of assessment pieces to qualify for a City Lit certificate. At the end of the course you will have the opportunity to show some of these in an exhibition you will organize and set up with your cohort.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- Produce a collection of basketry samples demonstrating a broad knowledge of basketry techniques in both traditional and more experimental materials.
- Record and document your work.
- Demonstrate an awareness of design through visual research and ideas development.
- Make work to a specific brief or set of instructions.
- Demonstrate an awareness of both historical and contemporary basketmaking.
- Write an Illustrated Study on some aspect of basketry.
- Follow good health and safety practice.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

The course is designed to be suitable for beginners and students with some experience who may like to use it to refresh or extend their existing skills.

You must be able to follow written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs and health and safety information. You will be invited to take part in group discussions and critique sessions, where you communicate with your fellow classmates.

Occasional communication between the tutors and the student group will take place via e-mail, so please discuss this at interview if you do not have access to e-mails.

For your coursework you will need to carry out research involving collecting, reading and analysing information to help develop your own work. You will also be expected to visit galleries and museums independently, present and write about your response and opinions from your research, and to evaluate and write about your work as it progresses. You may find it helpful to be able to use word processing but more important will be the use of notebooks and a sketchbook to record thoughts and ideas for reference and possible development.

You will need to have simple maths in order to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers and to work out costings, and estimate quantities.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

You will be taught through demonstration, individual and group tuition, written instructions, study of tutors’ samples, basketry collections and books, and from your own practical experience during the course.

There may be a visit to a museum, gallery or collection.

Handouts will be given on techniques, further reading, suppliers etc. You will be expected to undertake about 6 hours of independent work outside class every week to both consolidate and extend what has been looked at in class.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Basic materials will be supplied with some small extra costs possible in some blocks, in the production of large- scale work and some work done at home. The college has enough tools for you to use in class, but you will probably want to buy some for your own use. Your tutors will advise you. You will need to bring notebooks, pens and pencils and will find a camera useful. If you do not have access to a computer, you will be able to arrange access to a PC at City Lit, in the supported learning centre. Mention this at interview.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

The college runs short basketry courses on topics not necessarily covered in this course throughout the year. General information and advice on courses at City Lit is available from the Student Centre and Library on Monday to
Friday from 12:00 – 19:00.
See the course guide for term dates and further details.