Weeklong Intensive with Master Weaver Steen Madsen

Course Description

Over 5 days, experienced makers will be able to hone their skills and learn new ones with esteemed master weaver Steen Madsen of Denmark. The beloved instructor, maker, and forensic reconstructor of ancient, historic baskets who literally wrote the book on square work will be coming to the Hudson Valley from his home in Ringsted, Denmark for this special course. It is most suited to students who have some experience with basket making. Each student will be able to ‘choose their own adventure’ getting valuable tutoring from Steen in the basket they would like to make. We will be working mostly with peeled willow—in buff and white. For those who know Steen, there will likely be a bit of singing and dancing along with his instruction.

Details

Classes will run Tuesday through Saturday, 10am-5pm. All materials will be provided, along with lunch and snacks each day. If you have tools, please bring them, otherwise we will have tools for you to use. Payment in full is required to reserve your place. Address will be sent along with your confirmation. The fee for the week is $1825.

Location and Accommodations

The studio is about an hour and a half north of NYC, and about an hour south of Hudson, NY. 

Train: Metro North trains (Hudson Line to Poughkeepsie) leave about every hour from Grand Central to Garrison Station. There is usually a train around 8:30 in the morning, getting into Garrison just before 10am.  If you need to be picked up from the station (and brought back to it after class), we will come to meet you.

Airbnb: For those wishing to share a lovely Airbnb cottage walking distance from the workshop, it sleeps 6 in 3 bedrooms.

Inns: There are also two inns very close by, both of which have good restaurants, The Garrison and The Bird and Bottle. There are also place in the neighboring town of Cold Spring, 10 minutes away.

About Steen Madsen

Steen discovered basket making through a childhood passion for Stone Age handcrafts like flint knapping, rope making, hide tanning, and wood carving. He was introduced to basket making through his museum work withj 7500-year-old eel traps made of willow. He was soon growing willow and teaching workshops. Steen teaches basketry throughout Europe and the US, educates basketry apprentices, and creates baskets for museums, film and theatre productions, and collectors. He is the author of Baskets with Corners , the basketry bible on square work. His personal basketry collection of several hundred extends from 1840-1965, which he uses as reference for his research on the cultural history of baskets and basket making, which we hope will lead to another book.