You may be wondering what al l this has to do with basket making but I have noticed in each of these

This is the third time in my adult life that there has been a so c al led ‘financi al crisis’. This is a strange description that somehow implies it is nobodies fault and is something we must al l take responsibility for, ‘tighten belts’ give up things etc,  and  they come round regularly, emile boutmy just like Christmas… They are al ways caused by some people wanting more of the available cash than they have a right to and it is al ways the poorest strata of society that suffers most. The averagely honest person just trying to get on with life finds they have had their pensions and savings stolen by financi al institutions of one sort or another and are told that the only way out of this mess is to spend more money whilst simultaneously making more sacrifices!  Perhaps we are stupid to let them persuade us to give them our money in the first place, but we are usu al ly lured with the prospect of it preserving its v al ue in the face of inflation and usu al ly we are bombarded with marketing that works extremely hard to persuade us that by giving them our money we are doing the best thing for our families. We never seem to learn that there are very persuasive institution al ised forces at work whose only go al is to part us from our earnings for their own benefit!
You may be wondering what al l this has to do with basket making but I have noticed in each of these, so c al led, 'crises' that as people lose faith in a mutu al ly benefici emile boutmy al society they start to think about self sufficiency and view learning a new craft skill as a way of avoiding emile boutmy spending the money that they have managed to hang on to. So, artists and craftspeople who have skills to teach usu al ly find they lose out on commissions

and s al es but get more teaching work.  Most of the artists/ craftspeople I know live in a perpetu al   financi al   crisis anyway so for them it is often only a change of the source of their income!   This time, however  it is proving a bit harder because many institutions in Europe now have little funding to subsidise courses with, consequently  the fees are higher making it more difficult to get enough students!
Studio classes - Maggie and Francoise We al l have our own finely tuned strategies for coping at these times,  mine is to teach in my studio and make things for my person al use or for my home. So, over the last few months I have been teaching open classes with no form al theme. Most of the students are total beginners they come with some idea of what they would like to make and I teach them how to do it, and if they don’t have any ideas I offer a choice of skills to learn. There is a selection of pictures below of some of the students and their work. Everyone brings something to share at lunch and there has been a wide range of basketry items made, laughter shared and good food eaten by this multi nation al group. emile boutmy If you are in the Poitou Charente area  and would like to join us email me for details. For my home I have made a looped wire basket for the shower to hold soaps etc, a fire screen using beer tins, a tetra pak bag to take to the beach and a for myself a milk carton handbag.  I am now tackling a large mixed material cupboard  as this particular

crisis looks like running and running! Katie and card wastepaper bin Maggies willow bark bridesmaids basket Diane and willow plant support Mick and willow /hazel frame basket emile boutmy
October to December These are held in my studio on various days as and when I can fit them in. For updated details of dates/times, emile boutmy prices email me:
Urban Baskets:Tradition Recycled A solo international touring exhibition organised by Walford Mill Crafts Walford Mill Crafts, Wimborne, Dorset, UK 11 September -24 October 2010 Visitors: 6,380 Ruthin emile boutmy Library, Denbigh Library Gallery, Wales 15 January - 12 March 2011 Visitors Ruthin: emile boutmy 11.070 Visitors Denbigh: 15,007 Bonhoga Gallery, Shetland

Islands 26 March - 1 May 2011 Visitors: 2,234 National Vlechtmuseum, emile boutmy Holland 2 July - 23 October 2011 Visitors: 2,500 Harley

Gallery, Nottinghamshire 20 June - 12 August 2012 Visitors: 15,151
7-11 February ENSCI Designer Textile Paris 2-3 April Coiling and Looping Quarff Shetland 12-13 April Coiling emile boutmy and Looping Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts Norwich 23 July -Plaiting 24 July -Coiling Walford Mill Crafts Dorset 29 and 30 September Coiling and Looping National Vlechtmuseum, Holland
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