Basketry of the Pacific Northwest

green oval panier a jour

green oval panier a jour

Katherine was pleased to be invited to participate in Basketry of the Pacific Northwest on view in The Lab at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, Oregon from July 28 through August 29. This exhibit is a small show in the Community Showcase which features Northwest basket makers, both traditional and contemporary. The show was juried by Charissa Brock and runs in conjunction with The National Basketry Organization‘s 2009 conference in Portland.

The call for entries asked for basketry submissions that have an inspirational tie to an object or image that the artist has in their studio. For Katherine, one of her sources of inspiration are the baskets that she has made while learning from some of her mentors. Below is a photo of an open work French basket that she made while taking a course with Norbert Faure at the Cooperative of Vannerie in Villaines-les-Rochers which inspired the oval panier a jour woven with green Dicky Meadows willow with peeled buff for the fitching in the photo above, one of the baskets accepted for the exhibit.

traditional oval panier a jour

traditional oval panier a jour

Actually, Katherine was lucky to even apply for the exhibit. Thanks goes to Susi Nuss and her BasketMakers blog who posted on Tuesday, June 30 that the deadline for submissions had been extended to Monday, July 6. Ironically this was the first time we had even heard of this exhibit; so she had less than a week to consider submitting. (Though now Katherine can’t complain too much about my time following all the blogs!) The choice was made a little easier because Kat Perez at the Museum allowed the submission to be e-mailed.

With other projects to complete, she could only squeeze in a couple of days to make some possible entries and get me to photograph them. As those of you who work with ‘brown’ willows know, it also depended on what was soaked up at the moment.

Skagit tray

Skagit tray

She decided on making baskets that are fairly typical of her work like the oval panier a jour and this tray that is based on an Irish potato basket. The inspiration for these trays are the willows we grow and harvest on our farm.

willow harvested at Dunbar Gardens

willow harvested at Dunbar Gardens

Three submissions were allowed for each entry. The third basket Katherine submitted and the third basket she made last week to submit was the one not chosen. But we sold it for a wedding present today!

willow vase

willow vase

But even if none of them had been selected, Katherine still needed more baskets for the local Skagit Artists Together studio tour this coming weekend. So if you’re in Portland, check out  the Museum of Contemporary Craft and this exhibit which includes not only Katherine’s baskets but work by Pat Courtney Gold, Donna Crispin, Carol Horvath, Claudia Mullek, Patti Shaw, Shannon Weber, Linda Hendrickson, and Nanette Davis.

P.S.:

The Lab at Museum of Contemporary Craft

The Lab at Museum of Contemporary Craft

We were sent this photo sheet by exhibition coordinator Kat Perez. You can click on the image to get a larger size.

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Exhibit of Basketry Teachers

panier a jour by Katherine Lewis

panier a jour by Katherine Lewis

This oval panier a jour, or French market basket, was submitted for an exhibit of baskets woven by basketry teachers. Katherine was invited by Joanna Schanz of the Broom & Basket Shop to submit an example of her work for this exhibit at the Philip Dickel Basket Museum and Gallery in the Amana Colonies in Iowa. Each year they have an exhibit to celebrate basketry, and this year’s theme is basketry teachers and their classes across the US. The exhibit will be open from May 24 to October 5, 2009.

inside view of panier a jour

inside view of panier a jour

This traditional French basket is one of Katherine’s favorites. The basket is made using the techniques of scalloming and fitching. In 2006 Katherine traveled to France to spend a week in Villaines-les-Rocher at the Basketmakers’ Cooperative to take a course with Norbert Faure. The oval and square panier a jours were the baskets she focused on with Norbert. Despite her limited French, she learned a great deal.

view from above

view from above

Here is an excerpt from Katherine’s ‘about the artist’ statement for the exhibit:

Katherine Lewis is a basketmaker in the Pacific Northwest where she has been weaving willow for seventeen years. She has a small farm near Mount Vernon, Washington where she grows the willow used in her baskets allowing her to choose the quality, color, and texture of her weaving materials. Katherine’s goal is to weave willow baskets that are functional and durable while reflecting the natural beauty of the willows. She has studied with accomplished basketmakers from England, Switzerland, France, and Scotland; including traveling twice to the UK and France to tutor with basketmakers, tour the willow growing areas, and learn more about the willow basketmaking traditions. Her instructors have included Adrian Charlton, Jenny Crisp, Sally Goymer, Norbert Faure, Alastair Heseltine, and Werner Turtschi. An extensive background in traditional European techniques coupled with willow growing has given her the abilities and inspiration to pursue this traditional craft with her own vision.

P.S. You can click on the photos for a little larger view.

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May basket class

May 2-3 willow basketry class

May 2-3 willow basketry class

This past weekend Katherine hosted one of her willow basketry classes. 9 out of 10 students had already taken at least one of Katherine’s classes. As Katherine said everyone could twine, everyone could wale, and several are on the verge of really getting the border. Good thing because the projects were a choice between an oval laundry basket or a garden basket. Both start with a similar oval base using twining and chase weaves. The sides of the basket include a sturdy 4 rod base wale with step up to 3 rod wale. The side weave is French randing. The laundry basket is taller and straighter and finished with inset handles while the garden basket flares out more and has a wrapped handle. You can see by the photo that some nice willow baskets were woven and they’re still smiling!

You can see the listing of future willow basketmaking classes on our website.

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Spring Retreat

Katherine Lewis potato basket class

Katherine Lewis potato basket class

Katherine recently attended the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild Spring Retreat. She was the teacher of two classes at this annual event. Over 100 basketmakers came to take classes, weave, and socialize from March 18-22 at the Pilgrim Firs Conference Center in Port Orchard, WA. Katherine had two full classes. The first was an Irish potato basket. Check out the lovely colors in this traditional basket in the photo above. The willows are all from Dunbar Gardens. In the center of the photo holding her basket above her head is Alex Keggan who often helps Katherine in her classes. The other class was a willow square tray. The stakes on these are scallomed on the square base. Those borders and corners can be a real challenge.

some of the square tray class

some of the square tray class

Katherine was joined at the retreat by her friend and fellow willow basketmaker Kelly Wilson from Courtenay on Vancouver Island in Canada.

Katherine & Kelly

Katherine & Kelly

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