Willow mask workshop (all day)

What you will make

Danny’s masks recall traditional English folk theatre –  usually depicting animal heads, such as deer, wild boar or hares.  When they are not being worn for theatrics in the garden, they make intriguing sculptures, emerging from a hedge, or popping up at the back of a border, or hanging like a trophy from a garden patio wall or fence. 

How you will make it

• Learn to make the willow hoop base on which to weave your mask, including the pole which carries the mask and enables it to be stuck in the ground

• Get creative about the head you want to make and learn techniques to create the features such as the nose and ears.

About your tutor: Danny Manning

Danny is a basket maker and textile artist based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. He has been a member of the Basketry Association since 2019.  He has been exploring Sussex folklore and traditional craft techniques working with his own locally grown willow and unconventional materials found on the South Downs. He creates a range of crafted objects from intricate pieces of art jewellery to large scale 'mummer' masks and sculptures.  Mumming is a form of folk drama traditionally performed in masks and has its roots in England, Ireland and Newfoundland. Historically performed at the turn of the season, it gave the opportunity for young men to mask up and get up to mischief together making house visits, gate-crashing weddings and wakes and the performing of a rhyming play.