Being born in France, Lionel met some basket-weavers when he was 20, and studied basket weaving with them for a year, before moving to Canada.
The Willow Web originated in 1983 in Victoria B.C. Lionel was at first using wild willow, very plentiful in Canada, then started growing some European varieties on his acreage in Grand Forks B.C., where he taught basketry and sold his work before moving to Salt Spring Island in 1994.
Planted in 2000, his large willow plantations supply willow for Lionel’s work, for basketry workshops and local basket-weavers.
Lionel believes in keeping his willow prices affordable, and follows the rates of the French basketry coop.
TRAVELLING AND MEETING OTHER WEAVERS
I love meeting other weavers.
In a small village in Mexico, the men weave a superb willow basket out of short and uneven willow. They are very poor, and very skilled, and they welcomed me with open arms and loved looking at my French technique!
In Japan, some weavers are considered “National Treasures”; I was fortunate to meet one of them – Hiroshima Sensei – and weave fine willow baskets in a village, Gembudo, a centre of Japanese willow basketry.
I also met many bamboo basket weavers, makers of “Karui” backpacks, eel traps and other fine work.
In North America, if you say you’re a basket-weaver, you may be asked: “What else do you do?”…
In France, you may be asked: “Did you learn basketry in jail?”!… This is because basket-weaving was often taught to prison inmates.
On a small island in Thailand, around 1980, the locals laughed at the basket I wove, comparing it to a bird’s nest or something for the chickens to lay in… Then my Thai friend told me “I will show you.” She cut 96 coconut leaves, peeled them to keep the flexible core, arranged them in eight groups of twelve which she wove into patterns, 8x6x2, then 8x4x3, many times around, and in a flash produced two perfectly identical baskets. She was by no means a professional, yet she had that skill perfectly mastered.
In France, it is a delight to visit the Basketry Coop in Villaines les Rochers.
I also visit my teacher, Edmond Giglionne, a self-taught weaver in Provence. He told me “You don’t learn basketry, you steal it!” His son René carries on the family tradition.
