I am a former educator, art therapist and psychotherapist with a life long interest in plants , gardening and the natural environment. Always a maker and crafter, I settled on basketry while creating a riverside garden in Normandy where I became curious about how I might use some of the plant material generated, rather than just composting or burning it! I studied basketry with well known basket makers in the UK and in Europe before training more intensively through the flagship City Lit two year Basketry Course. I have been practising as an artist and basket maker since 2015. My base is a lovely studio in a network of craft workshops nestling at the bottom of the South Downs in Ditchling, Sussex, UK. I make to commission and exhibit and sell regularly through galleries, artist open studio events and craft fairs. I also teach basketry skills in my studio, at Ditchling Art and Craft Museum and at Sussex Prairie Gardens. I also exhibit my work through Gallery 57, Arundel.
Using ancient and traditional basketry techniques from around the world, my work encompasses functional and sculptural forms with a contemporary element. I specialise in working with soft basketry materials , incorporating unusual garden plant fibres, usually homegrown or foraged locally, alongside more traditional basketry materials such as willow bark and rush. I also specialise in replacing rush seating. Every piece is unique and reflects my engagement with the natural environment and the seasonal cycle of the gardening year.
I have enhanced membership of the UK Basketmakers Association and Art in Ditchling.
Julie Rignell Basketmaker 