Overview

A volume about the craft of weaving hedgerows, carving sticks and basket-making.

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9781845240677

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Reviews

This is an inspiring volume forming part of the Welsh Craft series, from an experienced author who has contributed to numerous journals and papers on the countryside, arts and farming. He brings his considerable knowledge and skill to cover the historical and contemporary crafts of hedge laying and management, stick making and basket weaving. Far from a nostalgic reflection on ancient crafts which display the close harmony between the crafts people and their natural environment working with wood to construct both the beautiful and the functional, it is a celebration of the thriving communities which are carrying these traditions forward. As Llanidloes basket maker, Beryl Smith, remarks: Traditionally basket making ... was employment. With willow baskets being used extensively in the home, industry and horticulture for centuries, every village had its basket makers. This took a sharp decline with the invention of plastic. Hopefully it will come full circle as we head for a more sustainable future. The vitality and sustaining forces of these traditions are brought to life through the authors illuminating accounts of the annual all Wales hedging match at Caersws in mid-Wales and his interviews and portraits of the individuals passionate about their craft. We meet hedge-laying expert Aeryn Owen Jones; stick maker Emyr Howatson in his Aladdins cave of a garage full of maturing sticks of blackthorn, holly, ash, hazel and cherry, together with an assortment of buffalo, deer, ram and cow horns which he will boil to shape into handles or crooks; other expert stick makers including R. G. Jones (Bob Gruff), Len Porter from Penisar-waun, Andrew Jones, and Dafydd Davies with his magnificently crafted handles in the shape of pheasants, golden eagles and swimming trout. Of the basket makers, we are introduced to the work of Beryl Smith, growing a rich variety of her own raw materials in her back garden, and J. Marvin Morgan, authority on the Welsh Cyntell basket. All three disciplines formed their own societies and associations recognizing the threat of decline compounded by industrialization, changes in agricultural practices which placed emphasis on food production, and cheaper imports which devalued the use of local raw material. As a result of the dedicated work of individuals and their societies, all three traditions are alive and the book offers a wealth of practical information on how to find out more, where to take a course to learn the skill and where to visit to see these crafts in practice. Jane MacNamee It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council

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