Gallery of Gifts

 

You can still find a wide variety of my baskets and holiday ornaments at the Gallery of Gifts.  In addition to the hen basket shown in the ad above I have many more styles to choose from. 

Studio Tour 2017

Enjoy a free, family friendly self-guided tour of  artist's studios.

  Meet the artists, see demonstrations, and have the opportunity

 to buy fine art and craft from the source.

 

My baskets and I will be at tour stop # 9 this weekend.  I am sharing a space in my good friend Carolyn Seabolt's newly remodeled studio.  Come by and see all of our wares.  I will feature some holiday themed baskets and ornaments as well as many traditional style baskets of all shapes and colors.

 

 For more information go to www.ccartists.com for a map of all the stops.

Give Thanks

November is here and it is time to count our blessings.  Being part of an active basket weaving guild is one of mine.  Today I spent an enjoyable Saturday morning weaving the casserole size basket shown above with members of the Central Pennsylvania Basketweavers Guild.  Guild member Joanne Sheriff lead the work session.



The wooden base has the routered message "Give Thanks" and two leaves. The leather handles were attached to the bottom of the base After inserting the spokes, two rows of twinging anchored the reeds in place.  The sides were brought up using cream half oval reed and a band of smoked reed and seagrass. 



The leather handles were not woven into the sides.  They are held in place between the outer and inner rim. 


Once the basket was complete, I painted the words and
leaves with paint.  A poly wood finish was then
applied to seal the base.









Fall Wall Basket

Fall is here! 

Now is the time to gather natures weeds, pods, berries, and more to make accent pieces for your baskets. A flat wall basket is the perfect choice  to add a fall embellishment and to use to decorate your home for fall.

Using a 8" x 12" D frame handle as my armature, I wove around the basket to form the flat pocket.  After finishing the rim I stained the basket a light wood color. 

An arrangement of milk pods, acorns, and weeds was attached to the basket with waxed linen to complete the fall look.

Small and Mini Backpack Baskets

Members of the Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild gathered this past weekend to learn from member Jude Gallaher, how to weave a small and mini backpack basket  in the style of the Adirondack backpacks. 

The small basket measures 5" high and includes a leather harness.  The mini basket measures 3" high. 

The baskets are too small for an Adirondack pack's intended use for carrying heavy loads, but they are a perfect  fit for a doll or stuffed animal.

Waxed Linen Cord Pendant

To complete the pendant I add some bead
enhancements and jewelry cording.

Working with waxed linen is a treat you can give yourself after weaving with cane and reed.  The warmth of you hands reacts to the wax in the cord to give your fingers a mini makeover.


I have been working with different color combinations in round 2" diameter disks to use as a pendant.  Using 32 spokes that are woven in a continuous weave, the pattern begins with twining two colors.  A third color weaver is added to allow for the 3 rod wailing pattern.  The zigzag pattern occurs by shifting to a reverse 3 rod wail weave.
The outer edge returns to twining three rows and finishing with a braided border.

Weaving Friendships 2017

I spent one of my favorite weekends of the year at the 2017 Weaving Odyssey in Gettysburg PA hosted by the Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild.

Thursday evening I made an assortment of embellishments suitable for baskets or wreaths.  Gina Kieft (gina@ginasbaskets.com) lead the workshop.  She had endless supplies of nuts, seeds, pods and grasses that she harvested from the fields and roadsides of Michigan. It was a fun class and a great way to start the weekend.

 

I spent Friday weaving with Pati English (BasketsMySpeciality@yahoo.com) an award winning weaver and author of a basket designs book from South Carolina.   I wove a traditional cathead basket. A triple decorative ban was added using two double  Three-Rod Arrow with a Reverse Three-Rod Arrow in the middle of the band.  It was finished with an ash hand grip handle.
 



 

Char Ciammaichella (charweave@gmail.com) from Ohio led my Saturday class.  I have been trying to refine my round reed skills so her zig zag design using 3 rod twining and reverse 3 rod twining gave me a lot of practice.  I am very happy with my design and color choice.

 

 

I finished up my weekend Sunday with another class by Gina Kief.  She taught a small round reed base bowl.  More practice with round reed!  The cream and purple container was finished with a three rod arrow design and a braided border rim.

 

 

Mark your calendars now for next years Odyssey Event

September 13 - 16, 2018

Check out CPWG website to learn more

www.basketry.homestead.com





CPBWG Service Project

Three berry baskets I have ready to donate to the project.

It's just days away from the 2017 Weaving Odyssey, the Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild annual convention.   I am looking forward to learning new techniques and meeting fellow basketmakers.




New this year, guild members have been weaving small berry baskets to fill with personal care items and treats.  The baskets and donations will be collected at the convention.  The filled baskets will be delivered to  Stillwater, a local shelter for victims of domestic violence following the convention.

Creating Art Through Basket Weaving

 Once again this December I will be participating in the 11th Annual  Carroll County Arts Studio Tour.  To help commemorate the event the Carroll County Times has featured profiles of the artists biweekly in their Life and Times Sunday feature.  

Today it was my turn to be featured in the newspaper.  This included an article, a portfolio of photos and a video.  The short video shows the process of creating an egg basket.  The finished egg basket at the left was made during the taping. 

The complete article and video can be viewed at the following link:
http://carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/cc-It-sharon-schaeffer-20170831-story.html

Off Track Art - Duet Show

I will be displaying a variety of baskets, each made with cats head bases at Off Track Art Gallery during the month of September. 

The exhibit is part of the gallery's Duet series featuring hand painted silks and tinsels by member Carolyn Seabolt and my cats head baskets.

The exhibit, " A Tisket a Tasket, a Cat in a Basket" opens Sept 7th.  An opening reception is Saturday, September  9th from 5pm until 7pm. Hope to see you then!

Cats Head Basket

Cats Head Baskets have a distinctive base with four woven peaks at each corner allowing the base to arch up while the four corners support the vessel.  This low  basket features a two color band with a cream reed twist to form a window effect.   Once the band is woven the sides are turned in quickly to form the rimmed opening at the top.  This basket is based on a pattern by Judith Olney, called Windows Globe Basket.

Cathedral Window pattern with reed twist.

Mini Ash Basket

 

I wove a miniature ash basket using a pattern by Annetta Kraayeveld ( www.pairiewoodbasketry.com ).  The small basket stands 2 3/4" high on two woven legs.  The basket is 2 1/2" by 2 1'2".  Small pinecone seeds and naturals are attached to one side for an accent. 

 



Weaving first leg

Both legs woven

Week 2 of Common Ground - EGG BASKET Class

Step 1 - Handle & God's Eye

Week 2 of Common Ground on the Hill at McDaniel College brought more weaving fun while I led a new group of participants through the steps of creating a traditional shaped egg basket.




Step 2 - Adding Primary Ribs



Step 3 - All ribs in place

Everyone in the class made an egg basket using colors of their choice. They used the colored reed in different patterns on their basket. Some weavers had time to make reed reindeer and napkin baskets as well.   The student art show held on the last day of Common Ground gave everyone a chance to display their weeks work.

Hen Basket Class at Common Ground

Sample Hen basket by Sharon Schaeffer

Each afternoon I taught a group to weave a hen basket during week one of Common Ground on the Hill. The yearly two week event is held at McDaniel College.

It was a fun week of socializing and relaxing while learning a new craft.  Some class members were beginners while others had  experience weaving baskets, but not this style of  rib basket. 

Everyone selected colors and patterns to individualize their basket.  Friday evening all the baskets were on display as part of the Student Art Show.

Day one -   forming the armature

Outdoor weaving

Baskets by students in the Hen Basket Class

Common Ground 2017 Gallery Show

Handmade Rib Baskets by Sharon Schaeffer are on display in Rice Gallery

Join me for the  Opening Reception on Sunday, June 25 from 4:30 to 5:30.  Work by all Common Ground 2017 Visual Art instructors is on display in the Rice Gallery on the second floor of the Peterson building on McDaniel College.

Dying Reed



Common Ground on the Hill 2017 is a week away!  I will be teaching a basket class during both weeks - a Hen Basket during week 1 and an Egg Basket during week 2. 




I have been busy getting supplies ready for the classes.  Yesterday I spent the morning dying reed.  Class members will have a rainbow of colors to choose from  as they select a color palette and design bands of color for their individual baskets.






Basic dye supplies





Green dye bath





Bundles of reed drying

Studio 1330 - Lessons Learned Exhibit

 

 

Gallery owner Jim Roberts invited my coworker  and I to exhibit our artwork  to celebrate our retirement at the end of this school year.   Holly and I have taught secondary art for a combined 70 some years.  The past 14 years we have taught together at Winters Mill High.

 

Joining us in the exhibit are two of our former high school art students.  They each now teach high school art in our county. 

I'm looking forward to next Saturday's opening reception.

Sculptural Antler Vessel

Basket maker Anne Bowers from Kearneysville, West Virginia was the featured instructor at the Central Pennsylvania Basketweaving Guild's spring retreat April 28-30.  The weekend getaway was held at the Gitt Memorial Library in Hanover, PA.    

                                       

I spent Saturday weaving a sculptural basket on an antler base.  Round reed spokes were inserted in holes drilled into the antlers.  Using a variety of textures and colors the woven form took shape using jute, baler twine and round reed.  Hills and valleys of color were used as well as wooden beads and open window sections.

Step 1 - Insert round reed into antler

Step 2 -  Weave beginning rows with round reed

After several rows bead and a open window were included in the design