Carroll County Artists Studio Tour 2019

        Enjoy a free family friendly self-guided tour or 17 art studios and two galleries around Carroll County.  Meet the artists, see demonstrations and have the opportunity to buy fine art and craft directly from the source.

         I will have a wide variety of my baskets at stop #9 - Cat Tracks Studio.  Come by and say "hi" and get a little something for yourself or for others on your gift list.

Gallery of Gifts

A variety of my basket will be available for your holiday gift giving.  

 

Stop by the Carroll Arts Center to see the many unique gift possibilities

 by a number of local artists.  

November Guild Weave

The Central Pennsylvania  Basket Weavers Guild held its final monthly weave day at Gravel Hill.  Member Pamela Wilson lead the workshop.   Members could choose between two different round reed baskets.

I choose to make the basket above.  The Japanese inspired basket is woven  with #3 round reed.  It features a Rjinko base and a circle of eight Josephine knots.  A rim of #8 round reed is attached with a series of three rod wale rows.



Beginning the base



Rjinko base



Circle of Josephine knots

October Guild Weave

Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild held their October basket workshop at the East Berlin Community Center on Saturday.  Twenty members gathered to weave a Sunflower Basket taught by member Joanne Sheriff.

The basket begins with an eight inch round oak base with a sunflower carved into the base.  Using natural flat oval reed the sides are gently raised for 20 rows.  A row of thin green and wider brown reed is woven to suggest a flower once the golden reed curls are attached. 

The curls are added on both the inside and the outside of the basket to make the petals of the sunflower.

Weaving the Hours Away

The Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild hosted the 19th annual Weaving Odyssey in Gettysburg Sept 19-22.  Twelve different instructors from around the USA came to share their expertise and love of weaving.

I began my weekend of  weaving by making basket in the shape of a Pineapple - the universal sign of hospitality..

Laura Lee Zanger led the class.  The basket begins with a basic round base.  Once the sides are woven the basket is made to look like a pineapple with the addition of reed curls.  The raffia bow and welcome sign complete the perfect welcome basket.






Saturday was spent weaving a tote basket with Dianne Gleixner.  The tote has a wooden base.  The main body is woven with alternating dark brown and smoked weavers with natural round reed using the Japanese Diamond weave to accent the middle band.  A row of paired triple twining is above and below the decorative body.  Leather handles complete the tote .







I ended my Weaving Odyssey with a two-day class taught by Laura Lee Zanger.  She helped us weave a large Cherokee-style  Cowee Burden Basket, traditionally used for gathering corn. 
The basket transitions from one shape with a 1-3-5 twill pattern to another.  The top rounded bowl of the basket features a arrow design band around the basket. 

 

 

 

To learn more about CPBWG go to www.basketry.homestead.com

 

You can contact the instructors via their email. 

diannegleiner@sbcglobal.net

llzanger@aol.com

 

Carroll County Art Centers Member Show

The Annual Members Exhibit is currently on display at the Carroll County Art Center in Westminster, MD.  The show run through November 2nd.  It features a wide range of styles and media in all of the gallery space. 

I submitted this twill weaving.  It is woven around a wooden 12' x 36" frame. 

This collage of past arts center events is also on display. The Arts Center is preparing to celebrate 50 years of bringing the arts and culture to Carroll County. Imagine my surprise to see a blast from my past included.  Can you find it?

August Guild Weave

Members of the Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild gathered on Saturday to weave market style caddy baskets.

Using the "Lucy" pattern from Bright Expectations Baskets we first wove an inner basket directly on top of the base.  The larger basket sides were woven, the handle inserted and the rim was attached. 

It was a fun day and we all left with a basket suitable for holding picnic supplies, craft supplies or baby diapers.

Large Round Reed Flowers

During the July Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild meeting, members wove a simple square basket with a handle for this years service project.  The completed baskets will be filled with toiletries and delivered to the VA  Family House in Pittsburg.






After lunch member Marilyn Julius lead us in making large reed flowers for outdoors.  We used dyed #7 round reed to form the petals  and #3 round reed to create the flowers center.  The flowers were attached to a 1/2" dowel to serve as the stem.    It was suggested to seal the reed flowers with a poly spray before "planting" them out doors.  I also painted my stem green.

A Month of Basket Classes

The past 4 weeks have been a busy, fun time of basket weaving.

I lead a Rib Key Basket with a group of outdoor women at a picturesque lodge retreat in Hancock, MD.  We sat on a wrap around porch over looking a breathtaking vista as we wove the key baskets.  Participants selected their individual color schemes, resulting in a wide variety of key  baskets.  

Once again I taught two week-long basket classes for Common Ground on the Hill at McDaniel College.   It is a time to catch up with old friends and make new acquaintances.  Week one students learned to weave a rib hen basket starting with a Josephine Knot.  We also had time to make a hair clasp featuring the same Josephine Knot.



















The second week students wove two baskets featuring a cat head bottom.  Emphasis was placed on perfecting the cat head "ears" and shaping of their basket.  One basket included a handle and one did not.   Color choices  made each basket distinctive and their own.







I so enjoy sharing my craft with other basket weavers, both beginners and experienced weavers.  There is nothing better than weaving baskets in the company of others.  I invite you to join a basket guild, class or casual group of friends and take time to fellowship as you weave. You will end up with more than just a basket!

Happy July Fourth!

 

Red, White and Blue flat wall basket

 

Art in the Park

 I will have a booth in Art in the Park on Saturday, June 1 from 10am to 4pm. Come say "Hi".



 The event features fine art and craft displays by over 60 accomplished regional artists.  A small food court, live music and crafts for kids round out this family friendly outdoor festival.

I will feature baskets suitable for your picnic and summer cookout needs.

Reed covered bucket

Divided basket with wooden base

Reed covered ice bucket

Divided Utensil carrier

Salad carrier  

Market basket



MD Sheep and Wool Festival 2019

This weekend my baskets will be for sale at the MD Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds.  The festival is open from 8:30 to 6:00 on Saturday and from 8:30 to 5:00 on Sunday.

I will share a booth in the main exhibition hall with friend and tinsel painter Carolyn Seabolt, owner of Cat Tracks Studio.   We have combined our wares in the past and look forward to a weekend of seeing old friends and making new acquaintances as we exhibit about our craft.

Stop by and see some of my newest basket styles - including lots of baskets to carry the specialty yarns and wools for sale at the festival.

CPBWG Spring Fever Retreat

The Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild Spring Fever Retreat was held this past weekend at the Gitt Memorial Library in Hanover, PA.  The Gitt Library was built in the late 1920's as a family summer getaway.  The two story house with wrap around patios and an enclosed porch  is set on beautiful landscaped grounds.  The flowering trees and spring flowers were in full bloom.   You couldn't  ask for a better location to spend a weekend weaving with friends.

 Basket maker Sue Dirsa from Alburtis PA was the featured guest instructor for the weekend.  She lead classes Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.  Sue can be contacted at Weave2me@aol.com

Below are tow of the items I wove during the weekend.

Starting on a wooden 15" by 15" frame I wrapped brown flat reed  around the front and back to fill the open space.  Using blue reed and following a twill pattern the front was woven in a  Cherokee star design.  The back side followed a standard 3-3 twill.




Front side

Back side 3-3 twill

7" high and 9" round

This round basket was woven with flat reed, flat oval, round reed and seagrass.   It is woven in a three rod wale pattern using three different weavers to create the row upon row spiral pattern up the sides of the basket.  A band of round reed tops the basket.  A leather strap is  added before the rim is attached.



Palm Sunday Weaving

Palm fronds are widely available for Palm Sunday.

I used some leftover palms to try to weave some classic palm designs.  The palms are green when newly cut.  As they dry out they become lighter in color.

The cross design is the most simple shape to weave.





Weaving the palm fronds into flowers allows for creative designs and bouquets of various shapes and sizes. 

 

Spring Baskets

Market basket with wooden cutout flowers.

   Spring is here!  

These baskets capture the spirit of growth and renewal that comes with the season.

Pastel colors are used in this market basket

                                                                                                                                                                              


 Purple twill low tray

These and other baskets I have made can be purchased at Off Track Art in Westminster. 

  

Plastic bags Upcycled into Mats

I enjoy weaving.  In addition to basketry, I have spent some of my time for the past year or so weaving plastic bags into sleep mats as part of a volunteer community service project.

I join a group of retirees once a week to prepare donated plastic shopping bags for weaving.  We first fold the bags, cut them into strips, join them and roll the lengths into balls.   It takes approximately 700 standard shopping bags to make one mat. 



Once the supplies are prepared we make the mats on our own time.  I weave on  a portable, handmade wooden peg loom  that sits on my dining room table.  As the strips are woven to form the mat, it fills up more and more of the table top.  Stripes of color form different patterns.  I enjoy working with different color patterns as I weave the mats.





I typically weave and watch a movie or TV.  It usually takes me about 2 movies to complete a mat. This year I have woven 7 mats in January and February.

 The finished mats are 4 ' x 6".   They are given to police, fire departments and community service organizations to distribute to individuals  known to have a need and often sleep outdoors.