John Waller - Willow Weaving

The preparation

On Wednesday 7 November we were treated to a willow weaving demonstration by an expert at the craft, John Waller.
Unusually, we were requested to make sure no one was seated nearer than 10 feet from the demonstration, and once John got cracking it was clear why this had to be.
Just look at the length of those willow branches, and you can see the need to keep clear.
Before the start of the demonstration the scene was set by what appeared to be  a wigwam made out of willow. A rather unusual setting for the start of one of our meetings.
However when John got to work, the evolution was almost magical. With manipulative dexterity the willow branches of varying widths were weaved into the frame work all accompanied by an explanatory commentary.

The final product can be seen in the image below.
John runs courses at the Greenwood Workshop at Bore Place between Edenbridge and Sevenoaks. His website is here.

The start

The finished product

The coppiced willow tree