Willow Baskets at the Rochester Folk Arts Guild

A few weeks ago at the end of September I was invited to teach willow baskets at the Rochester Folk Arts Guild located in the finger lakes region of New York. I never knew that this guild existed but after learning all about this very special place I was so happy to have taught here for a weekend.

The guild is set on around 300 acres of land. There are many buildings scattered about corn fields, lush gardens, apple orchards and rows of grapes. Around for many years this place has been a refuge for artists and people looking for meaning and spirituality in life. Over time many of it’s now remaining members, while on this quest for spirituality came to find a craft; there are potters, weavers, woodworkers, etc. They live and work together in this beautiful place, some even bringing up their families here. It was one of the newer current residents that found me through my website and asked if I could come and teach a class in basketmaking.

This is the view from the top of the hill. Those buildings grouped together make up the workshops and homes within this community of makers.

Learning more and more about this community, I was so intrigued to learn that these types of places still existed. I’ve known about intentional communities, but never heard of one with such a heavy focus on crafts. It felt amazing to experience this type of lifestyle for the weekend and I dreamed of someday spending more time here.

I had a great group of 5 weavers all relatively new to basketry itself or to willow. This weekend was about learning round willow work, which is one of the most fun classes to teach because there are so many varieties that can come out of round work. As you can see below, each of my students went home with a basket of their own design.

On two of the mornings the weather was nice enough that I was able to walk the grounds at dawn. You can clearly see how one could find meaning and spirituality in a setting like this. I wish I had more time to take pictures and nosy around the gardens and buildings that were built by the residents.

There was a tunnel of concord grapes! Oh that tunnel, it smelled like grape jelly the minute you stepped inside. Sunlight poked through the leaves and I popped a few grapes in my mouth. All your senses overload and you’re brought to that raw place where your understanding of where your food comes from is staring you right in the face. That jar of smuckers grape jelly is now only a pale comparison of what you see, smell and taste, and it creates this longing for real life. How can one go back? We can and we do, but with a new understanding of what we are missing in our modern and convenient lives.

I enjoyed every grape that weekend and every home cooked meal provided by the people and the land on which we were staying. Community meals each day were ushered by the ringing of a bell. Everyone helped to clean up and that beautiful connection you make with other people while contributing to the greater good, lightened everyones hearts. Our conversations were all about the history of this place and that need for craft in our lives.

When you attend a workshop in a place like this you get the full experience of how important craft and community play in our lives. That connection you make with other people is invaluable, and the connection your heart makes with your hands is the stuff of life. We are made to create; it’s inside each one of us, sometimes begging to come out. I think this is the very reason why I love teaching and also learning in settings such as this. You get to reconnect to traditions and a way of life that we desperately miss in our lives today. There are still people carrying on those traditions and whenever you get the chance to experience that, you should jump at the opportunity.

We had a beautiful space to work in, and everyone did a fantastic job. It was a wonderful weekend and I think we will be looking into holding another workshop next spring. Until the, I’ll dream about this place!!!