Artist Suzie Grieve Uses Dried Leaves, Weeds And Invasive Plants To Create Tiny Woven Baskets (20 Pics)

Every gardener will tell you that dealing with weeds, invasive plants and old leaves can be a real nuisance. However, one artist came up with a way of turning these annoying things into something special. UK-based artist Suzie Grieve of Foraged Fibres uses leaves, dried weeds, vines and other natural objects you can find in every garden to create miniature baskets that are absolutely adorable. In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the artist said that the first time she ever wove anything was when she was living in a community in central France. "It was my job to create vegetable beds so I used the abundantly growing hazel to weave the edges,” explained Suzie. More Info: Instagram | Website

Artist Suzie Grieve uses dried leaves, weeds and other things you can find in every garden to create adorable miniature baskets

Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres The artist said that she felt an immediate connection to the craft when weaving the sticks in place, and that the simple meditative rhythm of the whole process really allows her to connect with the land. "To be able to create with only your hands and what's growing around you is an amazing feeling,” says the artist. Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Suzie says that it has become a bit of a challenge to find the right material for her baskets and jewelry since moving to Lake District, and she had to adapt the way she finds the plants. "There is a real lack of wild space here to freely harvest materials from, which has forced me to make some beautiful connections with local landowners over the years who allow me to gather from their woodlands and fields in exchange for some simple work such as chopping wood,” explained the artist. Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres “It's a crazy lengthy process using wild-crafted materials for weaving. There's the hours spent finding the plants, gathering and processing them and hanging them up to dry before you even come to rehydrating them for weaving, but I love it," says Suzie. "I'm quite an introvert and between wandering in the forests looking for leaves and hermitting away in my weaving workshop, it suits me perfectly. I've always been obsessed with plants, so I'm super grateful I get to spend my days tangling them into little baskets.” Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Suzie says that some of her favorite plants to weave are dandelion, bramble and bindweed. "The beauty of using these plants is that they often get removed, mowed or pruned anyway. May as well turn them into a basket instead of going to waste,” says the artist. Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres “Being reliant on nature like this also gives you such a deep respect and desire to care for the environment around you, it's not within a forager’s interest to ever overharvest or damage the population of a plant,” explained Suzie.

Check out more of Suzie's little woven baskets below!

Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres Image source: Suzie Grieve / Foraged Fibres