KAREN BEK

I weave contemporary and traditional willow baskets, incorporating other foraged, found and coppiced materials to create baskets that showcase the properties of natural materials.  I seek to show the importance of protecting  living materials and demonstrate their usefulness beyond their living state in the outdoors.  I try to show how craft work can contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally protective future.  My work as a Social and Therapeutic Horticulture practitioner has influenced how I now teach willow weaving and basketry, using the craft to promote wellbeing and therapeutic practices.  My basketry and weaving workshops are designed to encourage the practice of slow and meaningful craftwork and I deliver workshops throughout East Anglia.

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Basketry became a way for me to relax and empty my head and I quickly became fascinated with the huge variety of baskets being made around the world.  The meditative nature of weaving forces me to concentrate on what is in my hands and not be distracted by all the other things my mind could wander to.

​Karen teaches a huge range of basketry workshops here at Reef Make & Do from obeleisks and basketry animals to display in your garden to baskets, platters and Christmas decorations.