Alison Fitzgerald

Alison Fitzgerald makes hand-woven baskets using sustainable methods and materials. She works with locally grown willow and natural bark colours, and without the use of fossil fuels or electricity. She was first drawn to the medium after moving to Northern Ireland in 1980. Noticing the long, slender, brightly coloured willow stems on the shores of Lough Neagh – once a flourishing centre of basketry – she was inspired by their lightness, beauty and pliability.

Fitzgerald’s work is influenced by her background in botany. Working with several varieties of willow, she experiments with shape and pattern, while retaining a robust, tactile functionality in all her pieces. She specialises in frame baskets such as the sciathóg or potato basket, emphasising the ribbing and playing with subtle gradations of colour.

Fitzgerald established Greenwood Baskets in 1985. She lives and works in Co. Tyrone.