I
consider Guy Barbier a national treasure of France—he is perhaps the
finest artisan vannier (artisan basket-maker) in the country. But to
say that is not to say nearly enough about Guy. He is a scholar,
anthropologist, consummate farmer of willows, teacher, keeper of
traditions, and crosser of new frontiers. Guy is above all a creator
and artist.
His
hands tell his story. Beautifully formed yet powerful, they are the
primary tools of his art. His long, broad, chiseled fingers grip your
hand with conviction, the same conviction with which he bends his
willow wands to create his baskets. His smile sparkles through his
beard, and his eyes have the serenity of someone who knows where he
belongs in life. He has the unprepossessing sureness of a master.
A
professional basket-maker since 1977, Guy practices his art on a small
farm in the department of Indre in the center of France. On this small
family holding, Guy and his companion Michèle Pichonnet cultivate the
more than eight varieties of willow that Guy uses in his creations. The
names of these varieties la Queue de Renard, le Pêcher Jaune, la Petite
Grisette, le Noir de Villaines, to name a few) bear witness both to
their distinctive characteristics for basket-making as well as to the
length of time they’ve been in cultivation. Each variety is appreciated
for its distinctive degree of strength, suppleness, diameter, and, not
least, color. Guy weaves the majority of his baskets in osier brut or
unpeeled willow, to take advantage of the rich spectrum of natural bark
colors evident among the many varieties he grows. He capitalizes on
their hues of umber, red, olive green, dark gray, and sienna brown to
weave subtle designs into his baskets.
The
rhythm of life on Guy’s and Michèle’s farm is dictated by the cycle of
willow culture. In early spring, fields are cultivated and new willow
cuttings stuck directly in the soil, where they root rapidly and
easily. Over the summer, the fields are kept free of weeds and
inspected regularly for disease and insect problems, then treated
accordingly. Harvest of the willow wands takes place in late autumn to
early winter, after the leaves have fallen and preferably on the heels
of a frost. Formerly this task was accomplished entirely by hand, with
a machete-like serpe. Now Guy uses a specially adapted cutting blade
attached to a roto tiller fitted with a basket to catch the cuttings.
After removing
dried weeds and culling branched stems, Guy and his helpers sort the
straight, unbranched willow wands by size. They are meticulously tied
in bundles ranging from more than 3 meters long to those measuring only
around 80 centimeters (less than a yard). I might add that in spite of
the inherent messiness of this work, Guy’s place is a miracle of order
and neatness at all stages. Every step is performed with care and
deliberation.
After
being sorted, the destiny of the wands—whether to be peeled for “white”
willow baskets, or left with their colorful barks intact (osier brut).
The wands destined to be peeled Guy places upright into basins holding
about 15 centimeters of water. They are held thus until May, when,
after they have leafed out, put forth their catkins, and even made
roots, they are peeled of all that, as well as of their bark. Peeling
is accomplished using a special peloir, or peeling machine. Although it
is now powered by an electric motor, the running of the peeler is still
laborious, as each wand is introduced into it and stabilized during the
process by hand. The peeled wands are then reorganized into bundles and
dried in a loft for 6 months over the summer and early autumn.
Meanwhile, the wands destined to be used in their brut (unpeeled) state
are dried directly after harvest for four or five months in hangars
before being stockpiled in dry lofts until they are used.
Guy
makes an incredible range of baskets and other objects fashioned from
willow. He is sought after as a restorer of baskets for museums, and
has drawn on the models he has thus encountered to recreate many
ancient forms. He uses nothing but the purest traditional techniques
learned from studying with many “grandfather” vanniers throughout
France. But in spite of his firm rooting in tradition, Guy is too much
of an artist to do nothing but make perfect replicas. He constantly
creates new forms, some inspired by ancient pottery, but many purely
contemporary creations borne of his own genius for form and color, as
well as from his clients’ requests. Michèle is an important source of
inspiration and ideas as well.
Besides
his baskets made from cut willow, Guy is also a master at the French
art of creating with tressed living willow. These living
objects—bowers, ornate fences, enclosures, baskets, and other
fantasies—are literally rooted in the ground. Guy makes them using
fresh, living willow wands that are stuck in the ground, then plaited
according to his creative whim. A bit of regular watering is all that
is needed for the living sculpture to root in place. One couple
commissioned him to make a fantastic living chair in commemoration of
their wedding.
Guy’s passion for and dedication to his art has
been essential to keeping alive an art that used to be practiced on
every French farmstead but that is now threatened with oblivion. In the
old days, says Guy, every farm had a willow patch in a corner of the
garden, along a creek, or at the bottom of the vineyard. Every family
made their own baskets for everyday use. In the 19th and 20th century,
the art of vannerie passed to professional basket-makers who often
traveled the countryside from market to market. As recently as the
1950’s, baskets were used for all sorts of purposes, not only the
harvest of cherries, apples, potatoes, grapes, mushrooms, and so forth
(each with its particular style of basket, to be sure), but also for
the transport of candy, wine, oil, fish and shellfish, charcoal, and
even chemical products. Even today, it’s not unusual even in Paris to
see the day’s production of baguettes being delivered in special willow
panniers. For certain purposes, there’s nothing better than a basket.
The
center of the French art of vannerie…
|
I
consider Guy Barbier a national treasure of France—he is perhaps the
finest artisan vannier (artisan basket-maker) in the country. But to
say that is not to say nearly enough about Guy. He is a scholar,
anthropologist, consummate farmer of willows, teacher, keeper of
traditions, and crosser of new frontiers. Guy is above all a creator
and artist.
|
 |
His
hands tell his story. Beautifully formed yet powerful, they are the
primary tools of his art. His long, broad, chiseled fingers grip your
hand with conviction, the same conviction with which he bends his
willow wands to create his baskets. His smile sparkles through his
beard, and his eyes have the serenity of someone who knows where he
belongs in life. He has the unprepossessing sureness of a master.
A
professional basket-maker since 1977, Guy practices his art on a small
farm in the department of Indre in the center of France. On this small
family holding, Guy and his companion Michèle Pichonnet cultivate the
more than eight varieties of willow that Guy uses in his creations. The
names of these varieties la Queue de Renard, le Pêcher Jaune, la Petite
Grisette, le Noir de Villaines, to name a few) bear witness both to
their distinctive characteristics for basket-making as well as to the
length of time they’ve been in cultivation. Each variety is appreciated
for its distinctive degree of strength, suppleness, diameter, and, not
least, color. Guy weaves the majority of his baskets in osier brut or
unpeeled willow, to take advantage of the rich spectrum of natural bark
colors evident among the many varieties he grows. He capitalizes on
their hues of umber, red, olive green, dark gray, and sienna brown to
weave subtle designs into his baskets.
|
The
rhythm of life on Guy’s and Michèle’s farm is dictated by the cycle of
willow culture. In early spring, fields are cultivated and new willow
cuttings stuck directly in the soil, where they root rapidly and
easily. Over the summer, the fields are kept free of weeds and
inspected regularly for disease and insect problems, then treated
accordingly. Harvest of the willow wands takes place in late autumn to
early winter, after the leaves have fallen and preferably on the heels
of a frost. Formerly this task was accomplished entirely by hand, with
a machete-like serpe. Now Guy uses a specially adapted cutting blade
attached to a roto tiller fitted with a basket to catch the cuttings.
|
|
After removing
dried weeds and culling branched stems, Guy and his helpers sort the
straight, unbranched willow wands by size. They are meticulously tied
in bundles ranging from more than 3 meters long to those measuring only
around 80 centimeters (less than a yard). I might add that in spite of
the inherent messiness of this work, Guy’s place is a miracle of order
and neatness at all stages. Every step is performed with care and
deliberation.
|
After
being sorted, the destiny of the wands—whether to be peeled for “white”
willow baskets, or left with their colorful barks intact (osier brut).
The wands destined to be peeled Guy places upright into basins holding
about 15 centimeters of water. They are held thus until May, when,
after they have leafed out, put forth their catkins, and even made
roots, they are peeled of all that, as well as of their bark. Peeling
is accomplished using a special peloir, or peeling machine. Although it
is now powered by an electric motor, the running of the peeler is still
laborious, as each wand is introduced into it and stabilized during the
process by hand. The peeled wands are then reorganized into bundles and
dried in a loft for 6 months over the summer and early autumn.
Meanwhile, the wands destined to be used in their brut (unpeeled) state
are dried directly after harvest for four or five months in hangars
before being stockpiled in dry lofts until they are used.
Guy
makes an incredible range of baskets and other objects fashioned from
willow. He is sought after as a restorer of baskets for museums, and
has drawn on the models he has thus encountered to recreate many
ancient forms. He uses nothing but the purest traditional techniques
learned from studying with many “grandfather” vanniers throughout
France. But in spite of his firm rooting in tradition, Guy is too much
of an artist to do nothing but make perfect replicas. He constantly
creates new forms, some inspired by ancient pottery, but many purely
contemporary creations borne of his own genius for form and color, as
well as from his clients’ requests. Michèle is an important source of
inspiration and ideas as well.
|
Besides
his baskets made from cut willow, Guy is also a master at the French
art of creating with tressed living willow. These living
objects—bowers, ornate fences, enclosures, baskets, and other
fantasies—are literally rooted in the ground. Guy makes them using
fresh, living willow wands that are stuck in the ground, then plaited
according to his creative whim. A bit of regular watering is all that
is needed for the living sculpture to root in place. One couple
commissioned him to make a fantastic living chair in commemoration of
their wedding.
Guy’s passion for and dedication to his art has
been essential to keeping alive an art that used to be practiced on
every French farmstead but that is now threatened with oblivion. In the
old days, says Guy, every farm had a willow patch in a corner of the
garden, along a creek, or at the bottom of the vineyard. Every family
made their own baskets for everyday use. In the 19th and 20th century,
the art of vannerie passed to professional basket-makers who often
traveled the countryside from market to market. As recently as the
1950’s, baskets were used for all sorts of purposes, not only the
harvest of cherries, apples, potatoes, grapes, mushrooms, and so forth
(each with its particular style of basket, to be sure), but also for
the transport of candy, wine, oil, fish and shellfish, charcoal, and
even chemical products. Even today, it’s not unusual even in Paris to
see the day’s production of baguettes being delivered in special willow
panniers. For certain purposes, there’s nothing better than a basket.
The
center of the French art of vannerie has always been the village of
Fayl-Billot and surrounding communes in Haute-Marne. Even today, the
feast of St. Antoine, patron saint of basket-makers, is celebrated with
a basket festival in the village. The village church is decorated with
scores of baskets and colorful bundles of willow. After blessing a
ceremonial brioche borne to the church on the shoulders of two young
basket-makers, the priest kicks off the festivities with the following
pronouncement:
Vanniers, votre métier n’est pas mort—au contraire! Vous l’avez dans vos mains. A vous d’en faire bon usage…
(Basket-makers, your profession is not dead—on the contrary! You have it in your hands. It’s up to you to make good use of it…)
This Guy Barbier has done.
Barbara Wilde, our guest contributor, meets wonderful people like Guy Barbier while searching for products for her website,www.frenchgardening.com
