STAGE VANNERIE DE PAYS : PANIER À CHAMPIGNON SUR ARCEAUX

A traditional basket-weaving workshop organised by the Lozère School of Basket-Weaving and Plant Arts
Eric, Charlotte and Daniel will welcome you throughout the week, first in Langlade and then in Mende, to make a mushroom basket using hoops – a traditional and time-honoured technique from the Lozère region. We’ll head into the forest together to learn how to identify and gather the plants used in this wild basketry, which is practised using green materials. We’ll then get straight on with making the frame (using a template or not) as well as the ribs from fresh chestnut, hazel or fresh ash, followed by the strands to be woven from white or purple willow or European spindle, split into 3 or 4 strands using a splitting knife, with or without the bark removed (to play with the colours). Materials will be provided if needed. Please do not hesitate to contact us regarding accommodation; we will suggest options in the local area.

MONDAY
9.00 am: Meet at the Langlade-Brenoux community centre
9.30 am: Harvesting chestnut wood in the Fraissinet forest
1.00 pm: ‘Picnic in the woods’
2.00 pm: Return to the community centre to make the frames

TUESDAY
9.00 am: Meet at the community centre
9.30 am: Identifying and gathering viburnum and wicker
1.00 pm: lunch break
2.00 pm: securing the base using the ‘eye’ or ‘cross’ technique
3.00 pm: making the first ribs

WEDNESDAY
9.00 am: Meet at the Mende basket-weaving school
9.15 am: working on the bindings, using the ‘peeling’ technique or playing with bark colours
1 pm: lunch break
2 pm: making the 4-by-4 ribs whilst weaving the bindings

THURSDAY (Forest outing)
09:00: Meet at the Mende basket-weaving school
09:15: Making the 4-by-4 ribs whilst weaving the ties
13:00: Lunch break
14:00: Continuing and finishing the basket (for the quickest participants)

FRIDAY
9.00 am: Meet at the Mende basket-weaving school and split into teams: finish the basket / start the small basket
9.15 am: Making a small basket: base and fastening (eye or cross)
1.00 pm: Lunch break
2.00 pm: making the first ribs and ties for the basket
4.30 pm: review of the course and souvenir photos of the finished pieces

Information
The sessions will take place from 9.00 am to 5.30 pm in Mende and the surrounding forests
Materials and tools provided
Clothing and footwear suitable for the season for gathering materials in the forest; leather thigh guards (if possible)

Meals
Every morning: a get-together over a hot drink
Packed lunches eaten together on site during the midday break