About the Course
This 2-day course will introduce participants to the beauty of working with willow. You’ll learn the foundational tools and techniques of the wicker tradition, creating a round or oval basket to take home, plus the skill and knowledge necessary for continuing your weaving journey. In addition to weaving fundamentals, participants will also receive an overview of how to propagate, harvest & prepare willow for future projects.
Location Information:
With the exception of our wildlife tracking programs and expedition trips, most of our courses are hosted within a 30 mile radius of Charlottesville, VA. The diverse nature of our programs is best served by a constellation of sites that includes both public and private land. To protect the safety and privacy of our host site partners as well as the safety of our participants, we do not disclose the addresses or coordinates of our sites online. Upon registering for a course — or no later than 2 weeks prior to its start date — participants will receive details and directions to the public, pre-course meetup location, from which we will caravan to the host site.
Instructor(s)
Talcon Quinn is an Appalachian folk artist who has been weaving, teaching and studying basketry for more than 20 years. She is deeply dedicated to sharing traditional arts that utilize sustainably harvested materials and which are presented in ways that are respectful to all. In addition to basketry, she is an accomplished cross-disciplinary artist who makes a diverse array of ethically and sustainably crafted earrings, necklaces, herbal products, buckskin clothing and bags, rosaries, bolos and more. We are pleased to have her as a visiting instructor at SRI for many reasons, but one of the most significant is her reverence for and commitment to the Appalachian region and its culture. She considers her artistic path to be an avenue of connection with her own Appalachian ancestry, and in turn strives to let her work be a window into a more just, diverse, and inspiring vision of Appalachia than what has often been portrayed in popular media. In 2025, Talcon will be teaching multiple courses for Stone River, including Willow Basketry, Vine Baskets, Hide Tanning, and Buckskin Sewing.
Talcon Quinn
