Conversation / Eve Eunson

October 2021

This year MAKE launched MAKE Learn, a partnership with Craft Scotland, designed to strengthen Scotland’s craft sector through a review of craft education within Scotland’s primary and secondary schools and beyond.

The MAKE Learn Pilot Schools Project, led by maker Soizig Carey, focused on the value of craft education within the school setting, working with teachers and students from six primary schools across the councils of Argyll and Bute and Glasgow City from March to June 2021.

Three leading Scotland-based makers – Eve Eunson, Deirdre Nelson and Stefanie Yin Lin Cheong - were commissioned to design craft activity guides for the Pilot Schools Project, encouraging craft making and experimentation for children in different learning contexts. The guides have been developed for children aged 9-11 and are designed to be adaptable for use in the classroom, at home or in other settings. Each guide provides children with an imaginative craft challenge that encourages them to explore traditional and / or contemporary craft processes, try out different materials and learn new skills. Eve Eunson’s Knotted Baskets guide draws on her native Fair Isle’s tradition of strawback chair making in order to encourage an understanding of this traditional craft in Scotland.

As an Endangered Craft practitioner, it was very important to me to pass on the endangered skills I’d learned and the pilot project offered the perfect way to do that. I found the whole experience really inspiring - the project was beautifully conceived and was put together in a really clear and professional way, so it was incredibly special to be part of the team of people involved. It was also great to connect and collaborate with other craft makers from across the country, particularly during the COVID pandemic, when making connections with new people was challenging.

I hope that young people will be inspired by the story behind the basket making activity and that it creates an awareness of our culture, endangered crafts and traditional techniques. Basketry is a great lesson in patience and resourcefulness, showing that you can easily make items that are both beautiful and useful from ordinary materials - if you just use a little imagination and give things a try! Traditional crafts are not always difficult, they often just need a little time. We live in a faster-paced world than our ancestors, which isn’t always a good thing - practicing craft teaches us to slow down and take the time to create. One of the biggest lessons I am still learning from practicing basketry is not to give up too soon! It can be difficult when a basket or chair back isn’t going the way I like, but I have learned to keep going, correct mistakes and appreciate all the skills I learn on the way - each new piece is better than the last!

It’s important to learn a craft from someone who is passionate about it and can use their passion to inspire others. Often craft is seen as a “hobby” or an historic pastime that is no longer relevant to the modern world. When contemporary professional makers share their craft in schools, they are not only sharing physical skills but also demonstrating that craft and making are viable career paths and worthy of the time and effort.

I would like to see more craft education in schools, the MAKE Learn pilot project being an ideal example of that. Craft and making offer such rich learning potential, including fine motor skills, appreciation of the environmental impact of objects, practical and problem-solving skills, understanding historic and creative cultures as well as being a crucial tool in teaching skills on managing and understanding mental health and wellbeing. My primary school days in Fair Isle were filled with art and craft projects, but that was probably unusual, and was 30 years ago! It seemed to me then that whatever we learned, there was an art and craft element to it and it made learning much more fun, with a lasting impact.

Sure! There are loads of materials to be found outdoors, which can be used in these baskets. The beach is a great place to start to look for materials to use – but not so much natural materials – there are loads of man-made materials that are found on beaches, which can be recycled into basketry. It’s a great way to reduce harmful pollution and protect wildlife. There are lots of materials at home that can be used too – fabric, paper packaging and plastic bags could all work well and cut down on the amount of rubbish that gets dumped. There are a lot of natural materials you could use too – but you must make sure that they are from a sustainable resource. Some of the naturally occurring traditional plants that were used in basketry in the past are actually endangered.

The baskets are perfect for keeping precious things in, or for organising toys, pens, make-up, craft materials, etc. They would make very good gifts for parents or other adults too – a good place to leave your keys and mobile phone when you come in the door or fill with sweeties.

Eve Eunson was raised on a small croft in Fair Isle, Shetland, and studied Art and Architecture in Aberdeen. In 2018, with no previous woodworking experience and very little knowledge of heritage furniture, she began an ambitious research project to trace, survey and recreate the traditional chairs of her native isle. Two years and hundreds of survey drawings later, The Fair Isle Chairs Project was completed. Eve continues to use her new skills in wood and straw to produce heritage inspired crafts and to pass on these skills to others. www.eveeunson.com

Watch the MAKE Learn short film series, introducing Eve Eunson, Dierdre Nelson and Stefanie Yin Lin Cheong and their activity guides.

Access the MAKE Learn activity guides here.