Gwen has been weaving with willow since 2010, when she completed her first basket under the guidance of master weaver Mitzka Jeric, who learned her craft from Alastair Heseltine. After spending a year on Hornby Island, BC, learning the process of growing, harvesting and preparing willow, she studied at the Ancient Arts Center in Corvallis, Oregon with Margaret Mathewson. Here she experimented with a diversity of plant materials and wild-harvested barks and roots, adding an appreciation for colour and texture to the strength and aesthetics of traditional European basketry.

She has since moved to a rural community outside of Nelson, BC, where she continues to weave and host workshops. She cultivates all the willow used in her weaving and teaching, growing a patch of 3500 which includes 20 different varieties.

As a homesteader and naturalist, Gwen finds the process of growing and working with willow a deeply nourishing aspect of integrating with the wild surroundings that sustain us.