Heather

Baskets, brushes and mats are made from heather on across Scotland, especially in the Highlands, Orkney, Shetland and in the Western Isles. To gather heather, it must be 'pulled' from sites on the moor where it grows long. This means that areas where it has been burned or there have been sheep grazing are not very suitable, because heather on these sites is rather close and dense. On a recent workshop with Skye artist and basket-maker Caroline Dear, we looked for sites near burns or bogs where the heather overhung, and long straight stems which included roots growing near the surface could be pulled. We tried to manage the heather as we worked, cropping selected areas within heather patches while leaving spaces where the heather could grow back.