Category Archives: willow basketry demos

Festival of Family Farms

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Katherine finishes a willow basket

Katherine finishes a willow basket

This past weekend Katherine was at the farm of our friends Eddie and Todd Gordon as part of the annual Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms. Every year about a dozen farms in the valley host an open house for visitors to enjoy and explore the diversity of our farm community. Katherine has been doing a willow basketmaking demonstration at Gordon Skagit Farm the past five years.  It’s a real family event and Katherine spends a lot of time talking to inquisitive children, especially the girls.

future basket maker?

future basket maker?

Adair Orr and Missy Holland blacksmithing

Adair Orr and Missy Holland blacksmithing

Eddie Gordon has invited a number of his friends to participate in the event to make it both fun and educational. Besides Katherine doing a basketry demo, there is Adair Orr doing some blacksmithing, helped out by his partner Missy Holland and his father Frank Orr. Julie Blazek sets up with honey bee info. Then there are goodies like hot cider and baked goods by the La Conner school culinary program run by Georgia Johnson.

Vicki, Silas, and Randy James

Vicki, Silas, and Randy James

Of course, the real draw is the fabulous variety of pumpkins, squash, and gourds that the Gordons grow and display so well. It’s a great spot to run into friends as well, like my friends Vicki and Randy who have a  farm down in Silvana. They were checking out some of the unusual squash for their own table or perhaps to add to their list of produce they produce for their CSA someday.

Eddie Gordon

Eddie Gordon

That’s the head pumpkin getting a quick chat in with Katherine. Thanks Eddie.

Juntunen Gardens

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Katherine at Juntunen Gardens

Katherine at Juntunen Gardens

Katherine participated in an event this past Friday evening at Juntunen Farm & Gardens in Mount Vernon billed as a garden party and fundraiser for Seattle Children’s Hospital. Several groups helped organize the event including Skagit Artists Together of which Katherine is a member. Past President Thais Armstrong helped gather several artists from the group to come out and demonstrate their work in a beautiful garden setting that has been created by Rod and Mari Juntunen.  There were also informational booths for SAT and the Museum of Northwest Art.

Painter Tom Pickett

Painter Tom Pickett

Fiber artist Andi Shannon

Fiber artist Andi Shannon

Working artists included Andi Shannon, Tom Pickett, Karen Fishburn, Alfred Currier, Anne Schreivogl, and Katherine Lewis. SAT members John McClain, Kathy Huckleberry, and Rose Mary Tate staffed the group’s information booth. Of course, there was live music, beer and wine, and general merriment involved.

Katherine finishing a basket.

Katherine finishing a basket.

Katherine made a lovely oval fitched market basket during the event which Rod Juntunen’s sister purchased.

Farmers market

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Katherine at the Mount Vernon Farmers' Market

Katherine at the Mount Vernon Farmers' Market

This Saturday is the start of our local farmers market. Katherine likes to set up a booth at the market a few times each year, especially the opening day. It’s an opportunity to see local friends and market her baskets and basketmaking classes. Besides she has invested in the markets success with her volunteer efforts as a past board member.She likes to bring her weaving set-up and some willows to work on a basket. Demonstrating her craft always generates interest in her baskets.

Our involvement with farmers markets goes back to 1983. We were twenty somethings working for an organic farm out near Sequim, Washington. We were getting a funky house to live in and food from the farm, but our only cash income had to be generated from a farmers market. Of course, we were given a small local market to attend by the guy we were working for. Sequim has a large retiree population so there were a lot of early risers on Saturday morning. We had to be set up for sales by 6:30 AM and by 9:30 we were usually the only ones left in the parking lot! These were the days before it was hip for the younger crowd with families to go to the farmers market.

Later in our “career”, when we had our own farm we went to one of the country’s historical market places – the Pike Place Market in Seattle. In the late ’80s and 90′s, organic produce was still relatively new to the market. Some of the vendors didn’t even believe we were growing such a wide selection of good looking vegetables and herbs. Katherine always put on a nice display in the small 8 foot table that growers were allotted. She even managed to get featured in an article in Sunset magazine in 1994 called “The farmers market frenzy”. Excerpting from the article: “This is the eighth year Katherine Lewis and Steven Lospalluto have sold produce at Pike Place Public Market in Seattle…They are part of a new breed that has chosen farming as a way of life…Today, Lospalluto picks corn and has the truck loaded by 5 A.M. Then Lewis makes two restaurant deliveries and arrives at the market by 7. She’s assigned to a spot she’s had often in the day stalls…With some help, Lewis lays out a display of squash blossoms, beans, celeriac, candystripe beets, zucchini, and other vegetables and herbs–about 20 kinds, from parsley to lemon verbena. Everything is organically grown…Lewis and Lospalluto have sold at weekend markets in Sequim and Puyallup, but prefer Pike Place, which has a week-long schedule (they’re there four times weekly, in season) and a clientele very interested in food.” (written by Jena MacPherson)

photo by Rex Rystedt from Sunset magazine

photo by Rex Rystedt from Sunset magazine

The photo is a scan from the Sunset article and taken in September of 1993. (Back then we marketed under the farm name Lombrici’s.) That’s Chris Allen on the right who worked some market days with Katherine (yes that’s Katherine on the left). Chris still lives in Seattle and works for Murdock and White in the specialty foods business.

But those long days! We haven’t sold produce at farmers’ market for about four years. These days we sell our vegetables, apples, and other garden goodies here on our small farm. It is a lot easier to pack up the willow baskets and necessary market booth stuff and head down to our local market. Besides, these days there is a growing number of farms heading to the farmers market with their farm fresh goods. But not too many willow basketmakers!

Basketry demonstration day at BAM

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Katherine Lewis demo at Bellevue Arts Museum

Katherine Lewis demo at Bellevue Arts Museum

Katherine was invited to participate in a basketry demonstration day at the Bellevue Arts Museum this past Saturday, Feb. 7. Another one of a series of events surrounding one of BAM’s current exhibits: “Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection (through March 22, 2009). There were five demonstrating artists – Dona Anderson, Dorothy McGuinness, Bill Roeder, Judy Zugish, and Katherine. There was also a “hands-on weaving” table staffed by members of the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild including Mary Irvine, Mary Auld, Carol Williams, Pat Reese, Pat Rytkonen, and Claudia Mullek. There were quite a few people taking in the demos as well as the great exhibits. Katherine made an oval shopping basket for her demonstration. One of the fun moments comes when she is “staking up” the basket. It takes a lot of floor space but always attracts an audience.

Katherine staking up the basket

Katherine staking up the basket

Some more of the talented participants:

Dona Anderson

Dona Anderson

Dorothy McGuinness

Dorothy McGuinness

Bill Roeder

Bill Roeder

Judy Zugish

Judy Zugish

Northwest Basket Weavers Guild members

Northwest Basket Weavers Guild members

After the day’s events, we viewed the museum exhibits. It was Steve’s  first view of the Intertwined exhibit. There was some great works. A few that stood out for me were baskets  by Leon Niehues, Pearl Nuvangyaoma, Sally Black, Mary Black, Dawn Walden, Fujinoma Noboru, Carol Stein, and Dorothy Gill Barnes.

Then we went out into neighboring Bellevue to find something to eat. Saturday night in downtown was a sensory overload for this country bumpkin!

Ries Niemi's purse sculpture

Ries Niemi's purse sculpture

Katherine ‘trapped’ in our friend and fellow Skagit County resident Ries Niemi’s purse sculpture outside the BAM’s entrance.

Take a seat

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basket stool

basket stool

When Katherine does a willow basketry demonstration, she brings along a large round basket to sit on while working. A couple of her customers (sisters up in Bow, WA) noticed her use of the basket at the local Mount Vernon Farmers Market. So they have ordered a couple of these to have in their homes. I’m not sure what they put inside of them, but when guests arrive they flip over the basket and have an extra stool. The basket is woven with a red barked willow and some hand peeled white willow that Katherine made. Below is a photo of Katherine doing a demonstration in La Conner at Art’s Alive in Maple Hall this past November. You can see her well used version of the basket stool.

Katherine Lewis at Art's Alive in La Conner

Katherine Lewis at Art's Alive in La Conner

Containers, Containment, and Contents

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Katherine Lewis, willow basketmaker

Katherine Lewis, willow basketmaker

“Containers, Containment, and Contents”

January 9, 2009 to February 12, 2009 at the Arts Council of Snohomish County, 1507 Wall St., Everett. The Arts Council of Snohomish County has offered the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild and Northwest Designer Craftsmen a joint art show at the Monte Cristo Hotel Lobby. Katherine is working on the show as a board member of the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild and has two baskets in the show. If you would like to read more about the exhibit, here is an Everett Herald story about the show.

The opening reception was this past Friday, Jan. 9. Katherine demonstrated her work in the gallery as part of the event. There were quite a few of the artists in attendance. Carrie Collver and the Arts Council staff did a great job in presenting the show.

This show coincides with the Bellevue Art Museum’s show “Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection”. Both of these shows will provide an opportunity to see some of the best work in contemporary basketry. Katherine will also be demonstrating her craft at BAM on Saturday, February 7, 12 to 3pm.