LISE BECH WOVEN LANDSCAPE
LISE BECH WOVEN LANDSCAPE 6 - 23 January 2017
INTRODUCTION...
Lise Bech in her Southern Uplands studio Photo: Tara Fisher
Lise Bech This is Lise Bech’s first solo exhibition with The Gallery, which heralds the first of our 175th anniversary exhibitions throughout 2017. Originally from Denmark, Lise Bech lives and works in the Southern Uplands of Scotland, where she grows a wide range of willows (Salix species) for her basket making. In addition to her cultivated willow beds, the local landscape provides a rich source of other traditional basketry materials (heather, fieldrush, hairmoss) and more experimental fibre plants (birch, broom) which are occasionally used for embellishment. “When we moved to ‘Wee Darhunch’, a remote shepherds cottage, 30 years ago it had the potential to fulfil all our dreams: an acre of land, private water supply, no neighbours, no traffic and land to grow food, trees and willow for basket making and not forgetting a solid stone house, barn and the head of the River Ayr at our side.” Lise’s initial interest and motivation in taking up basketry was her desire to be involved with the whole process of making beautiful and useful organic objects: from the growing and harvest of the raw materials through to design and final execution of the piece - each step satisfying her love of and commitment to the natural world. Working exclusively with Scottish willow - much of it organically grown, tended and harvested (coppiced) by hand - she weaves traditional as well as contemporary pieces.
'I made my first basket whilst living in Northern Ireland under the expert tuition of the aptly named Ms Greenwood! When I moved to Scotland she gave me one hundred willow cuttings thus ensuring I would ' keep my hand in'. That was the start of my love affair with willow. Growing my own materials keeps me connected with the seasonal rhytms and has fostered a sense of pride and integrity with regard to the final product - homegrown, organic, carefully harvested and lovingly handmade in Scotland' Lise Bech, 2016.
Lise Bech’s willow harvest throughout the seasons in the Southern Uplands
Menhirs Series
Lise Bech’s willow harvest in the Southern Uplands
Menhirs series left to right: Menhir 3, 2007, Salix Purpurea Brittany Green, H91 x W28 cms, £340 Saracen, 2007, Stripped Somerset Willow, H144 x W45 cms, £480 Menhir 2, 2016, Salix Purpurea Carl Jensen, H108 x W34 cms, £400
Menhirs series left to right: Menhir 4, 2016, Salix Purpurea Brittany Blue, H91 x W36 cms, £380 Menhir 6, 2016, Salix Fragilis Flanders Red & Lasiandra, H66 x W28 cms, £320 Menhir 5, 2016, Salix Triandra Whissender, H88 x W30 cms, £380
Landscape Pods The Southern Uplands Series
The Southern Uplands Series, Goodbush Hill, 2016 Salix Lasiandra H30 x W30 cms £340
The Southern Uplands Series, Hawick Hill , 2015 Homegrown Salix Purpurea ‘Carl Jensen’, technique augmented French randing H27 x D26 x W25 cms £340
The Southern Uplands Series, Earl Hill, 2015 Homegrown Salix Purpurea ‘Dickie Meadows’, technique augmented French randing H26 x D30 cms £380
“The scents of natural materials like willow are part of experiencing this work” Lise Bech, 2016
The Southern Uplands Series, Braid Knowe, 2016 Salix Basaltica H32 X W30 cms £280
Lise Bech harvesting homegrown willow Photo: Shannon Tofts Right: The Southern Uplands Series, Paige Hill, 2015 Salix Purpurea Carl Jensen H22 X W24 cms £320
The Southern Uplands Series, Auchensauch Hill, 2016 Salix Purpurea Brittany Green H25 X W23 cms, £320
The Southern Uplands Series, Greenfield Law, 2014 Salix Purpea Dickie Meadows H25 X W33 cms, £280
Lise Bech at work Photo: Angus Bremner
The Southern Uplands Series, Spirebush Hill, 2016 Salix Lasiandra H26 X W24 cms £320
The Southern Uplands Series, Starpet Rig, 2016 Salix fragilis Flanders Red H37 X W40 cms £480
The Southern Uplands Series, Avermark Hill, 2016 Salix purpurea Brittany Blue H29 X W33 cms £480
Strata Series
Strata Series, Eyrie, 2005 Salix fragilis Flanders Red H26 X W70 cms £400
Strata Series, Bowl, 2016 SalixTriandra Whissender and Black Maul from Somerset H13 X W26 cms ÂŁ136
Strata Series, Cauldron, 2016 Homegrown Bay Leaf Willow and Somerset Whissender H14 X W23 cms ÂŁ116
Strata Series, Platter, 2016 Mixture of Homegrown and Somerset willows H10 X W37 cms ÂŁ96
Lise Bech, 2004 Photo: Debbie White
Strata Series, Vase 1001, 2016 Mixture of Homegrown Willows H32 X W24 cms £205
Puddles Series
Puddles Series, Amphora, 2014 Salix Purpurea Brittany Blue, ceramic rim by Lorraine Robson H53 X W15 cms £320
“What came first the pot or the basket? The signs are that these two materials leant on each other to produce a useful item. Collaborating with Lorraine Robson was a sensitive and fun experience where we turned the basket upside down and started at the top with the ceramic rim becoming the base for the basket whilst developing it’s form. It was a big challenge to work with such a fragile frame!” Lise Bech, 2016
Puddles Series, Pannier, 2014 Saliz Basaltica, ceramic rim by Lorraine Robson H29 X L36 X W24 cms £440
Celtic Knots
Celtic Knot, Large, 2016 Salix Purpurea Dickie Meadows H7 X W54 cms £96
Upper: Celtic Knot, Medium, 2016 Salix Purpurea Dickie Meadows H7 X W48 cms £80 Lower: Celtic Knot, Small, 2016 Salix Purpurea Dickie Meadows H6 X W33 cms £70
Glenbuck Cherrypickers “Glenbuck is the the village closest to home - or rather it was. Now eradicated by opencast coalmining, 100 years ago it was known throughout the land for producing many professional footbal players from its local team, The Glenbuck Cherrypickers.” Lise Bech, 2016
Glenbuck Cherrypickers Series, Cornucopia, 2014 Cornus from Glenbuck Loch H62 X W10 cms £56
Glenbuck Cherrypickers Series, Egg Basket, 2014 Cornus from Glenbuck Loch and Willow H19 X W20 cms £96
Glenbuck Cherrypickers Series, Kishie, 2014 Cornus from Glenbuck Loch H15 X W15 cms £64
Shetland Kishies Left: Shetland Kishies Series, Handbag Kishie, 2016, Salix Purpurea Dickie Meadows H30 X W12 cms, £84 Right: Shetland Kishies Series, Mini Kishie, 2016, Salix Purpurea Dickie Meadows H21 X W10 cms, £60
Shetland Kishies Series, Glove Kishie, 2016 Salix Purpurea Dickie Meadows H28 X W17 cms £96
Shetland Kishies Series, Wall Kishies, 2016 Various Salix Purpurea H16-22 X W12-17 cms £68 each
Catalonian Platters Catalonian Platters, 2016 Salix Purpurea Brittany Blue and Flanders Red D23-28 cms ÂŁ44 each
Catalonian Platters, 2016 Various Homegrown Willows approx D28-34 cms ÂŁ44 each
Willow Pillows Willow Pillow 1, 2013 Salix Lasiandra and Cornus H13 X W33 cms £136
Willow Pillows 1I - VI, 2016 Various Willows H6-7 X W14-19 cms £68 each
Torques
Torque Torrtuosa, 2014 Salix Tortuosau D40 cms £96
Torque Birch, 2016 Betula Pendula D26 cms £36
Torque Repens, 2015 Salix Repens D26 cms (incl. tips) £48
Torque Lasiandra, 2016 Salix Lasiandra D31 cms £56
Torque Britzensis, 2016 Salix britzensis D28 cms £48
Torque Betula, 2016 Betula Pendula D42 cms £136
Torque Irrorata, 2016 Salix Irrorata D18 cms £36
Torque Hooleriana, 2016 Salix Hookeriana D54 cms £96
Torque Catkin, 2016 Salix Purpurea Green Dicks D20 cms £40
Torque Hookeriana Mini, 2016 Salix Hookeriana D23 cms £36
Lise Bech in her studio, 2001 Photo: Peter Sandground
LISE BECH b. 1951 SELECTED COMMISSIONS: 2003 2001 1999 1997
Channel 4 Timeteam, Fishtraps Design for the Dales, Stanhope School, Northumberland Craig Brown (Football manager Scottish Team) Kilmartin House Museum. Replica of prehistoric basket
SELECTED COLLECTIONS: Bilston Craft Gallery South Ayrshire Council Chris Ballance, MSP Dr Helen Bennett, MBE Shambellie House, National Museum of Scotland SELECTED AWARDS: 2015 Craft & Design Magazine Silver Award in Specialist Media 2005 Two Professional Development grants, Scottish Arts Council 2005 DTI Research Grant to SOFA, New York 2005 Marketing Grant, Develop Craft Ayrshire 2004 Creative Development Grant, Scottish Arts Council 2003 Basketmakers Association: bursary to attend International Basketry Summerschool, Denmark
Lise regularly runs courses and takes part in a range of events at The National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride and at The Stables, Falkland, Fife.
Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition: WOVEN LANDSCAPE - LISE BECH 6 - 23 JANUARY 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced in any form by print, photocopy or by any other means, without the permission of the copyright holders and of the publishers.