Conferences - National Basketry Organization, Inc.,

Highlights below from the 6th Biennial National Basketry Association Conference "Tradition and Innovation in Basketry VI" held August 2-7, 2011...

NBO is pleased to announce its
6th Biennial Conference:

Traditional and Innovation in Basketry VI

August 2 through 7, 2011

The National Basketry Organization's 6th Biennial Conference Tradition and Innovation in Basketry VI will be held at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, August 2 through 7, 2011.

Your Conference Registration Includes:

• A three-day class of your choosing
• Meals & lodging
• 6 seminars
• Gallery & museum tours
• Opening celebration
• Silent & live auction
• Friday gala dinner with band

For additional information, please contact us at info@nationalbasketry.org

Keynote Speakers:

Lissa Hunter, Contemporary Basketry Artist
Out on a limb - Where are you today?

Lissa Hunter has been at the forefront of the basketry field for thirty years. Speaking from her own experience, she will take a look at the contemporary basketry field from the beginning to the present day.

JoAnne Cooper, Co-Owner/Director Mobilia Gallery
The Vessel Redefined

JoAnne and Libby Cooper have operated Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts for thirty years. Ms. Cooper will discuss the history of the gallery, the aesthetics in choosing artists work and the gallery's role in redefining the basket.

The gallery will present an exhibition, "The Vessel Redefined", which will be held in conjunction with the NBO conference. This exhibition will be part of the conference Thursday night bus tour.

Seminars:

Penny Burton
"Progressive Journey: Dorothy Gill Barnes, Kay Sekimachi, Pat Hickman"

Wendy Durfey
"Contemporary Basketry - Silk Fusion and Beyond"

Flo Hoppe
"Ichiban Basket Adventures in Japan"

Kay Kahn
"Her History Revealed: Sculptural Textiles"

Jonathan Kline
"Black Ash Basketry"

Margaret Pelletier & Della Maguire
"First Nation: A Cultural Presentation"

Leandra Spangler
"Honoring A Vision: Weaving A Tradition"

Tentative Schedule:

TUESDAY, AUGUST 2

• 10:00 AM -12:00 PM Conference Registration/Stonehill Check-In and Room Assignments/Corr Hall
• 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Staff Lunch Break
• 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM Conference Registration / Stonehill Check-In and Room Assignments/Corr Hall
• 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Opening Reception/Stonehill Gallery
• 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM Opening Reception, Welcome, Keynote And Speakers/Martin Institute Auditorium
• Lissa Hunter, Contemporary Basketry Artist Out on a limb - Where are you today?
• JoAnne Cooper, Co-Owner/Director Mobilia Gallery The Vessel Redefined
• 9:30 PM Adjournment

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3

• 7:00 AM Breakfast
• 7:45 AM – 8:30 AM Seminar
• Jonathan Kline: "Black Ash Basketry"
• 9:00 AM Classes Begin
• 11:45 AM Lunch
• 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM Seminar
• Kay Kahn: "Her History Revealed: Sculptural Textiles"
• 1:30 PM Classes Resume
• 5:00 PM Classes Dismissed
• 5:30 PM Board Buses (Box Dinners on Buses)
• 6:15 PM Arrive at Boston Fine Art Museum
• 8:30 PM Board Buses (return to Stonehill College)
• Evening Classes at Teachers Discretion

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4

• 7:00 AM Breakfast
• 7:45 AM – 8:30 AM Seminar
• Margaret Pelletier & Della Maguire: "First Nation: A Cultural Presentation"
• 9:00 AM Classes Begin
• 11:45 AM Lunch
• 12:30 PM Seminar
• Wendy Durfey: "Contemporary Basketry – Silk Fusion and Beyond "
• 1:30 PM Classes Resume
• 5:00 PM Classes Dismissed
• 5:30 PM Dinner at Stonehill College
• 6:30 PM Board Buses for Fuller Craft Museum
• 7:00 Fuller Craft Museum opening & reception
• 8:30 PM Board Buses (return To Stonehill College)
• Evening Classes at Teachers Discretion

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

• 7:00 AM Breakfast
• 7:45 AM – 8:30 AM Seminar
• Flo Hoppe: "Ichiban Basket Adventures in Japan "
• 9:00 AM Classes Begin
• 11:45 AM Lunch
• 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM Seminar
• Penny Burton: "Progressive Journey: Dorothy Gill Barnes, Kay Sekimachi, Pat Hickman"
• 1:30 PM Classes Resume
• 5:00 PM Classes Dismissed
• 5:30 PM Dinner at Stonehill College/Martin Institute Auditorium
• 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Silent and Live Auction/Martin Institute Auditorium
• 8:45 PM – 10:45 PM NBO Celebration with Live Music/DJ/Martin Institute Auditorium

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6

• 7:00 AM Breakfast
• 8:15 AM Board Buses for Harvard Peabody
• 9:00 AM Arrival at Harvard Peabody
• 12:30 PM Board Buses/Box Lunches on Buses
• 1:30 Opening Reception at Mobilia Gallery/Greymist Studio
• 3:30 PM Board buses for return to Stonehill College
• 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Seminar
• Leandra Spangler: "Honoring A Vision: Weaving A Tradition"
• 6:00 PM Outdoor BBQ

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

• 7:00 AM Breakfast & Departure

Conference Classes (3 classes included in conference registration):

Material/Supply Fees are additional and are payable directly to your teaching
artist at the beginning of your selected class.

Wendy Durfey - Silk Fusion in Basketry and Beyond - Material/Supply Fee: $60

Skill Level: Intermediate

Class Description: Students will create baskets with the luxurious colors of silk fusion, in combination with traditional and contemporary basketry techniques. The inner basket is woven with painted archival paper and then a second layer is developed with the technique of silk fusion. Two baskets will be woven in class. One basket will use bamboo accents as a third layer and start with a wooden base. For the second basket, students will explore the possibilities of creating a third layer with the technique of wire looping.

Instructor Bio: Wendy began her textile career weaving on a loom in 1980. Later, she completed the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Weaving Certificate course at Sheridan College. In 1995, she switched to basketry making traditional baskets with traditional materials. In 2003, she developed a basketry technique using silk fusion. Wendy incorporates black ash, bamboo, metal, wire, beads, silk and cotton archival paper into her pieces. She exhibits and teaches in Canada and the United States and attends a few select craft shows each year.

Linda Fifield - Sculptural Beaded Baskets - Material/Supply Fee:  $10

Skill Level: All Levels

Class Description: Working with nylon thread and glass beads, participants will learn the fundamentals of Ndebele/ herringbone beading, a South African beading stitch. Shaping by increasing and decreasing stitches, each individual’s basket will be unique. We will also cover graphing original patterns.

Instructor Bio: An Appalachian childhood rich in examples of handmade work provided the foundation for my own inspiration of artistic expression. For 35 years I have constructed vessels utilizing various beading stitches. Experimentation and experience has resulted in an on-going production of work that has been shown and collected nationally.

Louise Goings - Contemporary Burden Basket - Material/Supply Fee:  $85

Skill Level: Intermediate

Class Description: Students will learn how to create this basket used by women in the 1800s and early 1900s to gather corn. Dimensions: approx 7” tall 4” wide, made from: White Oak splints dyed with natural dyes (Brown-Black • Walnut & Orange • Bloodroot)

Instructor Bio: Born in 1947, I grew up on Goose Creek Road located in the Birdtown Community on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, NC). At the age of ten, I learned to make small baskets by watching my mother, Emma Taylor. After the birth of my son and the return of my husband Butch from the armed forces, I began to make baskets again in order to supplement the household income. I have demonstrated basketry with my mother (deceased) at the Festival of American Folklife and the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian. I returned to Washngton D.C. in 1992 for President Clinton’s inaugural celebration of America’s Reunion. In 2006, I was invited to be a participant at the 40th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, as one of eighty Native American basketmakers in the celebration of living Native basket traditions: Carriers of Culture.  

Flo Hoppe - Japanese Basketry Techniques - Material/Supply Fee:  $35-$40

Skill Level: Intermediate

Class Description: Students will explore various techniques used in Japanese basketry using both round and flat reed. The many techniques include “rinko” and “asa no ha” (hemp blossom) bases; twining, twill weaves, and blossom knots up the sides; and unique methods for finishing the tops of the baskets. Several hexagonal weave variations will also be explored. There will be a wide range of baskets to choose from. Students can expect to make 6-8 small baskets or 1-2 more complex baskets.

Instructor Bio: Flo Hoppe is a full-time studio artist, teacher, and author. She began her career in 1971 teaching herself basketmaking from a small booklet published in 1924. Her emphasis is on wicker basketry and Japanese basketry. Flo lived in Japan from 1968-1971, and on a return trip to Japan in 1994 studied with two master basketmakers. Her published books are entitled Wicker Basketry and Contemporary Wicker Basketry. She teaches and exhibits worldwide, with teaching venues in England, Canada, Japan, Russia, and Australia. She lives in upstate New York with her husband of 44 years.

Lissa Hunter - Beyond the Basket: Creating Your Own Vision - Material/Supply Fee:  $5

Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Class Description: Do you ever feel that you have made the same basket a hundred times? Have you ever looked at someone’s work and thought, “How in the world did they come up with that?” Then I would say you are ready to go beyond the basket. By using what we know about the materials and techniques we use and love, each of us will work toward setting out in a new direction. This will not be a pattern class, nor will we be learning new techniques, per se. It will be a time to look at what we know, to ask ourselves where we want to go and to get to work.

Instructor Bio: Lissa Hunter lives and works in Portland, Maine. For 30 years, she has been using the coiled basket as the basis for her work exhibited in solo and group shows around the country. Her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution Renwick Gallery, The Museum of Arts + Design, The Boston Museum of Art and the Racine Art Museum among others. Teaching is a continuing source of pleasure for her.

Brian Jewett - Baskets As Vessels of Light - Material/Supply Fee:  $30

Skill Level: All Levels

Class Description: This experimental class will explore translucency of both materials and construction as key elements of a vessel’s design. We’ll cover the basics of lampmaking and wiring, and complete at least one lamp of grid-based construction with recycled materials. Participants will design and start a second vessel using materials and techniques of their own choosing. Electrical, lamp and shade parts and some recycled or repurposed weaving materials will be provided and/or available for purchase. Participants are also encouraged to collect interesting materials for their grid-based lamp and bring a selection of familiar materials and related tools for the second lamp of their own design.

Instructor Bio: Brian Jewett is a basketmaker & studio artist working with repurposed and recycled materials. He has recently begun incorporating light into his work, exploring both luminosity of materials and shadow effects of different construction techniques. Long an active member of the Los Angeles Basketry Guild, he has recently relocated and built a home and studio in Ludlow, VT.

Kay Khan - Quilted Vessels: Experiments in Fabric & Collage - Material/Supply Fee:  $10

Skill Level: Intermediate

Class Description: Artists should often suspend judgment and indulge in play. In this workshop we’ll play and experiment with ways to stitch together layers of fabric, paper, and felt using hand quilting, drawing, and collage. We’ll find ways to build up the surface adornment that will also be simultaneously adding layers of structure. Using this structure, we’ll fold and stitch together parts to create three dimensional forms. Participants might like to try stapling and even safety pinning parts together. We will explore ways to construct without using glues or adhesive materials. Please bring wonderful fabrics and papers of your choice and be prepared to draw, deconstruct, collage, and build!

Instructor Bio: Kay Khan is a full time studio artist residing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work is included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Art and Design in New York, De Young Museum in San Francisco, Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, and New Mexico Museum of Arts in Santa Fe.

Jonathan Kline - Round Double Bottom Basket With Heart Handle - Material/Supply Fee: $75

Skill Level:

Class Description: 9” Diameter, Black Ash, Hickory. Some prep of materials will be done in class, including carving the rims and handles.

Instructor Bio: Jonathan Kline grew up in Hudson, NY, and was influenced early on by the Taghkanic basket makers who had lived and worked in the outlying area for generations. In 1980, Jonathan had the opportunity to work with Newt Washburn, a 4th generation New Hampshire basket maker, and from him, he learned the basics of black ash basket making. Jonathan’s baskets are of the tradition of functional Northeast splint baskets, made without molds or jigs, by hand and eye alone. His baskets are in collections throughout the U.S, and he has been featured on Martha Stewart Television, PBS: “The Woodwrights’ Shop,” as well as numerous books and magazines including, American Baskets by Robert Shaw, Country Living, Gardens’ Illustrated, Architectural Digest, and Country Home. Soon to be published in Spring 2011 is his book for Stackpole Press Black Ash Baskets.

Karol Lindquist - 6” Round Nantucket Basket with Ears - Material/Supply Fee:  $230

Skill Level:

Class Description: Dimensions of the basket: 6” long, 3” high, 2 ¾” wide. The handle height is 4” above the rim of basket and gracefully shaped, where the ends become the ears that are inserted into the weave of the basket. These fixed ear-handles ride on oak staves and enter the weave just above the curve of the mold--extending down into that curve. Materials: Cane weavers, staves and rim. Oak handle. Base made from either cherry, maple or walnut.

Instructor Bio: Though Karol has taught traditional lightship baskets for over 30 years on Nantucket, the island of her birth, she is also well-traveled with her craft. She has demonstrated at the Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle and attended the Lowell Folk Festival as an honored Master Craftsman exhibitor. She has taught classes as far west as the Michigan Basket Association Convention and as far south as Sarasota, Florida. In 2006, she was the featured basketmaker for the Northeast Basketmakers Guild annual exhibition at Slater Mill in Pawtucket. Karol’s work stood at the forefront of “Keepers of the Tradition: Folk Arts in Massachusetts,” a year-long exhibition from 2008-09 at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington.

Margaret Pelletier and Della Maguire - Sharing Mi’kmaq culture through basket Making - Material/Supply Fee:  $85

Skill Level: Intermediate

Class Description: Students will learn knowledge and skill involved in the process of making a fancy basket with lid from start to finish.

Margaret Pelletier Bio: I was born on the Waycobah First Nation in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Basket weaving has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I am a well recognized artist in both the Native and non-Native communities. I have exhibited my works at many different venues in both Canada and the United States. In addition, I have received numerous awards and distinctions. I continue to search for different creative designs and methods to further advance my works.

Della Maguire Bio: Della is of First Nation’s Mi’kmaq ancestry and grew up in a home of constant basket making. Her parents Abe and Rita Smith were known as the finest Mi’kmaq basket-making team in Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, she was not part of that process, as watching her parents making baskets seemed to her ‘just a part of life’ and never once did she realize that their basket making was a cultural form of art, Mi’kmaq Art!

Lois Russell - Knot Now! I’m Knotting! - Material/Supply Fee:  $30

Skill Level: All Levels

Class Description: A knot is a simple little twist of a string. But put a bunch together, throw in some color and imagination, and you have a powerful fiber technique. This class will begin with the basics. Using waxed linen thread we will start a piece and learn how to add and control color and design. Because knotting has little structural strength, we will begin working on a form. There will be an opportunity to make original forms and to go freeform. Students can choose to focus and finish a piece or spend the whole time experimenting…or some of both. There will be no “rules,” so please bring whatever embellishments and fiber you would like to experiment with. I will bring basic art supplies for making forms and stuff to play with.

Instructor Bio: Fiber was my fate. I have been a teacher, a journalist, even gone so far as to be in politics. But, baskets kept pulling me back. My family has a long history of working with fibers. I grew up learning to knit, sew, weave, embroider, and hook rugs. In 1988 I took my first basketry class with Judy Olney, and I have never looked back. Baskets have it all: form, color, texture, and architecture. There are rich traditions and countless techniques just waiting to be used with new materials and in new ways. There are always more ideas than hours.

Elizabeth Whyte Schulze - Surface Design and the Coiled Basket - Material/Supply Fee:  $35

Skill Level: All Levels

Class Description: The coiled vessel is sewn with dyed and natural raffia, embedding a geometric design as the basket shape develops. Designing the surface of the basket will be challenging. Throughout the workshop I will demonstrate ways to apply paint, gel medium, rice papers and stencils to the coiled surface. Each student will plan and design the surface of their basket to reflect their personal art.

Instructor Bio: As a basket maker I strive to weave an exquisite coiled basket, as an artist I transform the surface through painted imagery and as a teacher I enjoy students who contribute to the learning process.

 Leandra Spangler - Skin and Bones - Material/Supply Fee:  $35

Skill Level: All Levels

Class Description: Create the bones of a sculptural form using the traditional basket making technique of twining, but with a twist. These pliable armatures will be twisted, curled or expanded into sculptural forms pleasing to the maker. Held rigid during drying and sheathing, the skeletal structure of reed will be covered with skin of decorative/handmade papers. Selection of papers and pattern of appliqué will individualize each participant’s form creating a unique personal expression. No two will be alike. This technique/process can be used for creating work for the wall or pedestal. Building in balance, mechanics for hangers, creating bases and care of completed sculptural work will be discussed.

Instructor Bio: Leandra Spangler’s passion for papermaking began in 1986 when she first plunged her hands in a vat of pulp. Her desire to present paper in three dimensions led her to an exploration of basketry techniques. After twenty-five years of teaching art in the public schools, Leandra became a full time studio artist in June 2000. She holds a Master’s in (art) Education from the University of Missouri. She continues teaching at national, regional and state conferences, guilds, schools and in her studio.

Mary W. Thompson - Traditional Cherokee Basket (double woven) - Material/Supply Fee:  $75

Skill Level: Intermediate (proficient with a knife)

Class Description: In three days, the students will have the opportunity to work with river cane. We will teach the methods involved in preparing the materials needed to weave the basket. This will include splitting the cane then stripping outer layer of the cane. We will then construct a small double woven basket, using the natural and colored splints in the ‘flowing waters’ design. Student should have knowledge of basket weaving. You will need to bring with you a scraping knife, scissors and a scraping cloth as you will be making your natural splints. Gloves would be useful. Colored splints will be provided.

Instructor Bio: Mary Thompson, her mother and daughter weave traditional Cherokee baskets, using river cane and natural dyes in their single and double woven baskets. Mary also weaves cane mats. The knowledge and skill needed to create the double weave baskets was almost lost. Her river cane double weave baskets and mats have received first prize in a juried Art Market, Cherokee Indian Fair, commissioned by the University of S. Alabama in Mobile and presented to Merle Haggard by the Cherokee Vice-Chief Blythe.

Pamela Zimmerman - Journey through Contemporary Horsehair - Material/Supply Fee:  $30

Skill Level: All Levels

Class Description: This class will focus on contemporary horsehair coiling. We will learn hair taming, handling and shaping skills through a series of projects which can be worn as woven jewelry or used in a miniatures display. Building on these skills, the class will culminate in each student coiling a wave horsehair basket, similar to photo, that may or may not be completed in class time. This is tiny work. Requires finger dexterity and grasping ability.

Instructor Bio: Having learned mostly from books and experimentation, I think of myself as a self-taught fiber artist. Not believing in weaving rules, my focus is more “what works” and “why.” Over the past 12 years, I have woven over a thousand pieces, using many different materials. Perhaps best known as the originator and webmaster for the internet-based Pine Needle Group, I also co-founded the Natural Fibers Group; and am a longtime board member of the North Carolina Basketmaker’s Association.