The peace that comes with baskets
- Marion's creates sculptures with traditional basket weaving techniques
- Her practice involves creation, collaboration and sharing her knowledge
- She explores basket weaving as a meditative, intuitive and time-based craft
Marion Bui's basket weaving is defined by her multicultural upbringing. “I grew up between Asia, Africa and Europe, with a Franco-Belgian mother and a Vietnamese father,” she says. “This experience shaped my sensitivity to materials, movement and way of life.” Marion trained in traditional basket weaving at CAP Vannerie, and ENOV Fayl-Billot, and as a designer-maker in applied arts at CERFAV, establishing her practice in Reims in 2021. “I approach basket weaving as a contemporary sculptural practice rather than a purely utilitarian craft,” she explains. Primarily working with raw willow and the neolithic braiding technique, Marion creates fluid forms guided by gesture and intuition. Her work unfolds at the intersection of craft and meditation, where time, attention and uncertainty shape both the making process and the final object.
Interview
- How do collaboration and exchange shape your creative process?
- Teaching workshops, working with associations and participating in collaborative projects allow me to sustain my practice financially while making space for sculptural work. Being part of cooperative craft shop Le Clos Gallice in Alsace also gives me year-round visibility and direct contact with visitors, which has led to new projects and opportunities.
- What do you enjoy most about your work?
- What I love most is meeting people from all walks of life. Through workshops and encounters at the cooperative, I hear their stories and perspectives. So in a way, I travel without leaving my studio. Each encounter informs my practice, making basket weaving not just about material, but about connection and shared experience.
- Why is neolithic braiding so important to your practice?
- The gesture is always the same, yet the possibilities are infinite. By raising or lowering the weave, adding or removing strands, the form constantly changes. I love that I can never fully control the outcome. I allow myself to get lost in the process, and the results always surprise me.
- What role does meditation play in your practice?
- I never start with a drawing or an idea. The repetition of gestures creates a space where thoughts dissolve. Emotions, sensations and movement start to guide the form. In that sense, basket weaving is a form of meditation: a way to be fully present, both for myself and for anyone encountering the piece.
Marion Bui is a rising star: she began her career in 2021 and she started teaching in 2023
Where
Marion Bui
