Helen Munday - Artist Basketmaker
Helen is an exhibiting artist basketmaker, working with willow and natural materials grown or gathered by herself, giving her practice a circular, sustainable ethos.
Since completing a Contemporary Crafts degree at Hereford College of Art in 2022 she has exhibited her work in Scotland, Wales, and England.
Artist Statement
I live a few miles outside Ledbury in my off-grid home, a self-converted truck, when my three children were small, I decided to take up basket making, it came as a natural choice to me as hedgerow materials were readily available and you don’t need lots of expensive tools.
I started learning traditional basketry skills over a period of a few years from accomplished makers such as Jenny Pearce and Joe Hogan, gaining the knowledge and proficiency that enabled me to turn my passion into a business.
I run regular basket weaving workshops at Hellens Manor in Much Marcle and in my ‘Wonders of Willow’ shop in Warehouse 701 in Hereford.
‘From the first time I made a basket I was hooked! The smell, the feel of the willow and the pattern and repetitive strokes just came naturally to me. It can become mesmerizing, and addictive and the possibilities are endless. I love the sustainability of the craft and grow a lot of my own willow, feeling grateful each winter when I come to harvest the rods how circular the process is, the baskets and artworks I create can go back to the earth at the end of their long lives and nourish the ground once again.’
