SUGAN TEACHING

When I learn something, I love to teach others.

A year ago I went to the Slieve Aughty mountains and stayed there and learnt how to weave a sugan chair. At that time I had sprained my ankle badly but nothing was stopping me from learning such a beautiful craft.( (11 May 2016 - Making a Sugan Chair
http://kreatifhands.blogspot.ie/2016/05/making-sugan-chair.html)

I also wrote an article about it in my column for the New Straits Times Malaysia. (A Chair by Any other Name would make a Great Seat - http://soo-livinglifeasitis.blogspot.ie/2016/08/a-chair-by-any-other-name-would-make.html )

A year later I contributed a sugan chair to the Scarriff Cooperative Cafe. When the director heard about it he contacted me and said there were several sugan chairs that needed repair and asked if I could teach?

I thought it would be a lovely thing to do and so the coop put up a notice. It was a free workshop for anyone interested. The only thing was the participants could not bring the chairs home.

I ordered the rope from Dublin and when the day came I had three eager participants. They were all fast learners and in two hours we wove new seats for 6 chairs.



One of the participants said it was very interesting that a Malaysian was teaching them an Irish craft. He also asked me about the history of the sugan chair and I readily shared whatever I knew. Then he asked whether I knew other traditional crafts. I said yes: willow basketry and limerick lace making. Then he  cheekily asked if they would be having Malaysian satay later. In fact, two of them had been to Malaysia before!

It was really great to teach those who are good with their hands and we had a wonderful time that Saturday morning.

MAKING A SUGAN CHAIR

When I wrote to Slieve Aughty centre about a year ago (2015) and asked them when they would conduct a course on sugan chair making, I heard nothing from them. Then out of the blue in January 2016, they contacted me and told me about the Weekend in the Hills where traditional crafts would be taught. Strangely they had kept my email and decided to respond a year later. This is Ireland.

So I signed up for it and Michael and I made 2 trips just to check out the place, to be sure, to be sure. I'm perfect in the city but I get lost in the country. Slieve Aughty is nestled in Kylebrack, Co. Loughrea. The first time we drove there, we were going uphill and downhill and then we admitted that we were lost. So we pulled to the side and waited for a friendly face. Lo and behold a tractor came by.

I put on my puss in boots look and said, 'I am lost, can you help me?'. No one can resist that, not even myself. The farmer was very helpful and said, 'I will put your feet on the right path again!' He grinned and went over the directions twice. This again is Ireland.

When the day arrived, I was in no position to drive as I had sprained my ankle and tore some ligaments. It was wonderful that my friend Susan said she would take over the wheel. Such is the wonder of having a great friend. Susan had also signed up to do a different course.

At the reception counter, I asked whether I could use the lift. The lady in-charge said the lift was full of stuff and I had to climb the stairs with my crutches. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Anyway, the tasty organic food made up for it. The room was lovely too.

There were five of us - all ladies. We surrounded the master craftsman Sean Walshe and gave him no peace, We chose our logs and there was a lot of sawing and drilling.

I was completely hopeless when it came to the use of brute strength. I am no brute and I had no strength.

At the end of the day, Susan came by and helped me with the weaving of the seat. The result of four hands working on the seat was spectacular. The master was very pleased and so was I.