After working in ceramics for more than a decade, Patrizia turned to basketmaking and specialises in weaving sculptural contemporary pieces in willow, bespoke baskets for the home, antique and vintage chairs in rush, cane and Danish cord. Her work celebrates craftsmanship through the use of renewable materials and enduring design, and it is influenced by the simplicity of Japanese aesthetic and by the clean lines of Italian design.
Patrizia’s QEST Howdens Scholarship will allow her to do one-on-one training with four experts in four different specialisms mainly within the craft of willow weaving. She will do eight days’ tuition with Anita Vozik, focusing on advanced chair weaving techniques. She will also further develop her skills through training with QEST D’Oyly Carte Charitable Foundation Scholar Annemarie O’Sullivan and Jenny Crisp. Finally she will learn a variety of specialist leather-working skills with QEST Leathersellers’ Company Scholar Candice Lau, which she will integrate into her weaving practice, to make items like bags and baskets, and to complement her existing willow sculpture-weaving work.
