RUSH AND WILLOW MANN. John Dog Callister 13/4/20
I have already written about my interest in flowers in my piece called Manks Flora! Now I want to explain a little about my interest in Rush and Willow work. I have been creating and possibly inventing little items made from rushes for a number of years. It started off with George Quayle showing me how to make a 'Bumbee Cage' in the late 1960's. This I perfected and then started showing others how to construct them including Dessie Robinson. I had known Dessie for years through football and later on while working for MNH and being sent to the Calf of Man as part of my job as Countryside Warden with MNH we became very great friends. It was while I was working on the Calf in the early 2000's and Dessie was one of the wardens that I picked some rushes, which grow well on the Calf, and made a Bumbee cage. Dessie couldn't get over how simple yet incredibly intricate they are and was soon practicing. I will have to admit that he makes a much 'neater' Bumbee cage than I do but I always question the shape of his!!
In George Quayle's book 'Legends of a Lifetime', which incidentally is a fantastic book but now out of print and can be difficult to come by, in the book is a picture of a Bumbee cage and it is nice and rounded which is what I try to achieve. I always call Dessie's Pyramids!! That said another good friend and colleague Kevin Quayle (no relation to George I don't think) also learned to make Bumbee cages and he is now an 'expert' like Dessie and myself. Kevin also liaised with me on Willow Basket classes. Having been shown the basics by myself went on to perfect his own style, just like with our bumbee cages.
I also make St Bridget's crosses from Rushes. Learning to make these is an interesting story. I was working for Manx Wildlife Trust as a helper, overseeing work being done out the Purt in Ballaugh Glen. A computer business in Douglas sent around eight workers each day to carry out tasks in the Glen. New fences and gates erected, fixing fences that needed attention clearing areas etc. While sitting having lunch one day amongst the rushes I pulled a few and made a quick, rough Bumbee cage. An Irish girl, one of the workers, was very impressed and asked me could I make a St Bridget's Cross? I said no and she proceeded to show me! That has since become part of my set of Party tricks! Later on I tried to make Three legged crosses and five and six legged ones. Six is pushing it to it's extremes but I call the five legger a Christmas cross, the Christmas star has five 'arms'. One day I thought about trying to make a proper Three Legs with knees and ankles. The first one I made was very over engineered and I nearly gave up but then I hit on the idea of the present method of construction. I think I may have invented it as, I don't think in Ireland where they would be making rush items, that they would make the three legger St Bridget's cross into a three legs.
Later on from the Rush work I started to play around using Willow. My first attempts a bit rough but I persevered. It was then that I met another person who made a huge impression on my life and willow work. His name was Dru Leodsson, he was Icelandic and a real character. He had a wonderful aura about him and was a hugely gifted. I mentioned to him what I was doing trying to make baskets, and he gave me some tips, and some baskets for comparison and I was off!! He lived in Castletown and he and his wife had a cottage on one of the Mediterranean Island. He fell one day while working on the property over there and the last time I saw him he was in a very bad way! He gave me a number of his excellent tools which are the best I have, and which I treasure. I now make both Bumbee Cages and Three legs out of Copper wire also. These are very robust and make wonderful gifts as they will last 'forever'. The Bumbee cages can be key ring fobs too.
I then started in earnest to make baskets and other items from willow. After some time Kevin and myself started to run Basket classes, usually in the Ebeneezer Hall in Kirk Michael. I often meet people who remind me of the wonderful time they had then and that they still have the basket of which they are very proud. I branched out into coffins, good pun there, but to date I have only made the one. This was purchased from me by a Ramsey man who badgered me constantly to let him buy it. He died in late 2019 and I went to his funeral and noticed that my coffin wasn't on display. Enquiries led me to find out that he worshipped his coffin and in later years, when he wasn't well, it was a source of great enjoyment. Unfortunately it had been soaked in a house flood incident and wasn't good enough to be used at his funeral - I now have to set to and make myself one!
Other than baskets I make a few other Willow items, Christmas circles, stars, wands and I still run Christmas classes as well as basket classes to pass on the Willow art and craft! Recently I have made Christmas Angels that can be bedecked with lights and brighten up a Christmas window. I also have made a 'Creel' which was accepted very well by a local fisherman, not sure how it will stand the rigours of daily tasks yet. Technically willow items should be made from Willow that has been dried and then soaked prior to working. This I find to be a long drawn out process so I make my things from 'fresh' willow that has wilted for a bit but still has some 'give' in it, but items made with the Willow have a propensity to go a little slack as the willow dries out and loses some of its rigidity. The piece of 4” x 2” 10 ft long, when soaked in water for a long time will expand to possibly 4 ¼ “ by 2 ¼ “ but will still be 10 ft long!! Take then a Willow basket, the sides may have up to 60 or so Willow sticks in total. If each of these shrinks by 1/2 mm that will be a total of 30mm of slackness in the side. This is why later on I weave in rope for example around the basket to take up the slack and add a bit of colour!
This is my story so far, my latest project, later on this year when the Willow is ready is to be a Lobster/crab pot. Watch this space!!
I have already written about my interest in flowers in my piece called Manks Flora! Now I want to explain a little about my interest in Rush and Willow work. I have been creating and possibly inventing little items made from rushes for a number of years. It started off with George Quayle showing me how to make a 'Bumbee Cage' in the late 1960's. This I perfected and then started showing others how to construct them including Dessie Robinson. I had known Dessie for years through football and later on while working for MNH and being sent to the Calf of Man as part of my job as Countryside Warden with MNH we became very great friends. It was while I was working on the Calf in the early 2000's and Dessie was one of the wardens that I picked some rushes, which grow well on the Calf, and made a Bumbee cage. Dessie couldn't get over how simple yet incredibly intricate they are and was soon practicing. I will have to admit that he makes a much 'neater' Bumbee cage than I do but I always question the shape of his!!
In George Quayle's book 'Legends of a Lifetime', which incidentally is a fantastic book but now out of print and can be difficult to come by, in the book is a picture of a Bumbee cage and it is nice and rounded which is what I try to achieve. I always call Dessie's Pyramids!! That said another good friend and colleague Kevin Quayle (no relation to George I don't think) also learned to make Bumbee cages and he is now an 'expert' like Dessie and myself. Kevin also liaised with me on Willow Basket classes. Having been shown the basics by myself went on to perfect his own style, just like with our bumbee cages.
I also make St Bridget's crosses from Rushes. Learning to make these is an interesting story. I was working for Manx Wildlife Trust as a helper, overseeing work being done out the Purt in Ballaugh Glen. A computer business in Douglas sent around eight workers each day to carry out tasks in the Glen. New fences and gates erected, fixing fences that needed attention clearing areas etc. While sitting having lunch one day amongst the rushes I pulled a few and made a quick, rough Bumbee cage. An Irish girl, one of the workers, was very impressed and asked me could I make a St Bridget's Cross? I said no and she proceeded to show me! That has since become part of my set of Party tricks! Later on I tried to make Three legged crosses and five and six legged ones. Six is pushing it to it's extremes but I call the five legger a Christmas cross, the Christmas star has five 'arms'. One day I thought about trying to make a proper Three Legs with knees and ankles. The first one I made was very over engineered and I nearly gave up but then I hit on the idea of the present method of construction. I think I may have invented it as, I don't think in Ireland where they would be making rush items, that they would make the three legger St Bridget's cross into a three legs.
Later on from the Rush work I started to play around using Willow. My first attempts a bit rough but I persevered. It was then that I met another person who made a huge impression on my life and willow work. His name was Dru Leodsson, he was Icelandic and a real character. He had a wonderful aura about him and was a hugely gifted. I mentioned to him what I was doing trying to make baskets, and he gave me some tips, and some baskets for comparison and I was off!! He lived in Castletown and he and his wife had a cottage on one of the Mediterranean Island. He fell one day while working on the property over there and the last time I saw him he was in a very bad way! He gave me a number of his excellent tools which are the best I have, and which I treasure. I now make both Bumbee Cages and Three legs out of Copper wire also. These are very robust and make wonderful gifts as they will last 'forever'. The Bumbee cages can be key ring fobs too.
I then started in earnest to make baskets and other items from willow. After some time Kevin and myself started to run Basket classes, usually in the Ebeneezer Hall in Kirk Michael. I often meet people who remind me of the wonderful time they had then and that they still have the basket of which they are very proud. I branched out into coffins, good pun there, but to date I have only made the one. This was purchased from me by a Ramsey man who badgered me constantly to let him buy it. He died in late 2019 and I went to his funeral and noticed that my coffin wasn't on display. Enquiries led me to find out that he worshipped his coffin and in later years, when he wasn't well, it was a source of great enjoyment. Unfortunately it had been soaked in a house flood incident and wasn't good enough to be used at his funeral - I now have to set to and make myself one!
Other than baskets I make a few other Willow items, Christmas circles, stars, wands and I still run Christmas classes as well as basket classes to pass on the Willow art and craft! Recently I have made Christmas Angels that can be bedecked with lights and brighten up a Christmas window. I also have made a 'Creel' which was accepted very well by a local fisherman, not sure how it will stand the rigours of daily tasks yet. Technically willow items should be made from Willow that has been dried and then soaked prior to working. This I find to be a long drawn out process so I make my things from 'fresh' willow that has wilted for a bit but still has some 'give' in it, but items made with the Willow have a propensity to go a little slack as the willow dries out and loses some of its rigidity. The piece of 4” x 2” 10 ft long, when soaked in water for a long time will expand to possibly 4 ¼ “ by 2 ¼ “ but will still be 10 ft long!! Take then a Willow basket, the sides may have up to 60 or so Willow sticks in total. If each of these shrinks by 1/2 mm that will be a total of 30mm of slackness in the side. This is why later on I weave in rope for example around the basket to take up the slack and add a bit of colour!
This is my story so far, my latest project, later on this year when the Willow is ready is to be a Lobster/crab pot. Watch this space!!
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