Gallery of Gifts

 

2020 has been a tough year for artists and craftsmen.  I am very thankful for the Carroll County Arts Center for hosting the annual Gallery of Gifts once again this year.  There is one week left to support the artists participating in this showcase of high quality art suitable for gifts.  Come check out the displays

I am featuring baskets, gourds and vessels using natural materials.  Naturally shed antlers are incorporated into some of the pieces.  Pine needles and sweetgrass are woven into small bowls. Small bells are fashioned from the tops of gourds.  

Small Gourd Bells

 After a long season of cancelled craft shows I will be participating in three upcoming holiday craft shows in November and December. To make some holiday ornaments, I used the tops cut from  gourds of other projects to fashion small bells.  The edges are rimmed with pine needles, seagrass and/or jute.  Wooden beads were used  for the clanger to keep the natural look. 

Mobius Strip

 

I spent the past few months experimenting with mixed media sculptures and vessels. A twisted vine knot found during a walk through the woods was the starting point for the piece shown.  Using basketry reed and seagrass I woven a undulating shape that starts and ends at the knot as it twists into a type of mobius strip.  Color and texture was considered and repeated throughout the piece.

This sculpture will be part of the Carroll County Arts Council 18th Annual Members Show.  The exhibit displays a variety of mediums made by local artists.  The show is open to the public from September 28 to October 31, 2020.

Mixed media sculpture

I have been using this time at home to experiment with weaving with a variety of materials into freeform sculptures.  Basket reed, grasses, beads, and sticks of twisted vine are combined into shapes which mimic forms found in nature. The mixed media sculptures shown below start with round reed inserted into a drilled wooden base.  

Woven pod-like shapes are woven with reed and seagrass and attached to the wooden base.  Wooden beads are attached to the largest vessel that extends from on end of the twisted wooden stick. 

A pod-like vessel extends from one end of the wooden twist.  The round form closes upon itself and flattens to an arch of woven fibers which are attached to the other end of the wood creating a circular  loop.  

Quarantined: Creating While Stuck

The Carroll County Arts Council invited artist to submit their creations for entry into an online exhibit.  From June 30 until August 31st works by 40 different artists will be displayed giving a glimpse into the creative process for many.  

The Covid 19 stay-at-home order provided the time and opportunity for me to experiment with the art of Temari thread weaving. The interplay of threads and colors became my focus, to busy my hands, soothe my mind and fire my imagination as I juggled life's challenges during these changing times. This is my entry. 

Juggling the Balls of Life

Needle Felted Bella

These past few months at home have given me time to explore other crafts beyond basketry.  Needle felting is something that I have been dabbling with for about a year.

For my daughters birthday, I decided to needle felt a mini portrait sculpture of her boxer Bella. 

This was my first attempt to create a free standing felted sculpture.  I started with a pipe-cleaner skeleton covered with natural colored wool.  Once I was satisfied with the proportions of the body, I added the colored wool to mimic the fur patterns. 

 The finished piece is about 4.5" by 6" high.  

Bella  - the model

Threads Exhibit

What is a thread? Is it a strand of fibers? What is the thread that connects us together?  These were the questions posed in a call to artists for a juried show at the Carroll Arts Council . 

I was one of the twenty plus artists whose work was selected to be in the exhibit.  I created a mixed media sculpture of waxed linen open and closed vessels  attached to a twisted wooden stick. Beads and colorful threads also are incorporated into the piece. 

Due to Covid shutdowns, the exhibit is now a online catalog exhibit.  You can see the other interpretations, using a variety of media, of the concept of THREAD on the Arts Center website.
www.carrollcountyartscouncil.org/event/thread/ 

The sculpture is 18" long and stands 4" high

The mini vessels are 3" in diameter. 

Weaving with Palms

I have been experimenting weaving with the palms I had ordered for my church's Palm Sunday service.  Since they went unused this year I had an ample supply to weave. 

I started with some simple star and flower shapes.  I moved onto a heart-like wall-hanging with palm flowers attached.

Using the plated method of  basket weaving I tried a simple square vessel.   I then moved onto a small plated pouch with a flower accent and braided handle. 

                       I have a long way to go perfecting weaving with palms, but it was fun. 

Star Twill Bowl

I am keeping busy weaving baskets during this time of social distancing. 

Using flat oval natural reed with blue and brown dyed reed I wove a twill star pattern to form the base of a round bowl.

Gradually the sides of the bowl were raised while weaving a 3-3 twill with natural reed.  It creates a swirl pattern around the sides.

The rim was held in place with natural waxed linen thread.

The finished basket is 12" by 4". 

Japanese Temari Thread Balls

 During my time at home I have been teaching myself the art of Japanese Temari thread balls.  I was able to follow the clear directions and techniques illustrated in the book Japanese Temari: a Colorful Spin on an Ancient Craft by Barbara B Suess. 

I find it very calming to wrap the balls with sewing thread and then "sew" the patterns with embroidery thread.  It's also a way to use up fiber supplies I have around the house! 

Just as basketweaving takes practice to master, so does this 3D embroidery.   I will continue to wrap balls and learn more techniques of Japanese Temari.  You may want to give it a try too.

Hidden Treasures

I have been weaving a lot of baskets while staying inside this month.  I have found some kits I had tucked away and forgotten about.  This double-walled basket is one I made from a kit by Anne Bowers.  It features a inner core of smoked reed and sea grass woven around the outside layer of the vessel.

The square base was woven in a 2 -2 twill of alternating plain reed and smoked reed.

Using only the smoked reed spokes the inner vessel were woven using smoked reed.  A 1/4" plain filler row topped the shape before the spokes were tucked to the outside.They were later hidden in between the two layers of weaving.




The remaining plain spokes were upturned and woven with sea grass in a chase weave. 
 A 1/4" plain filler row topped the shape before the spokes were tucked to the inside, between the two layers of weaving.

Lastly a half oval reed rim was attached with cane, sea grass and a piece of round reed.

A Basket a Day Keeps the Virus Away

A basket a day may not keep the virus away but it keeps me happy as I hunker down at home.

This painted paper vessel is from a  kit by Karen Kotecki that has been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to have time to weave it.  I have time now!

The twined base secures the spokes and  becomes part of the design when diagonal corners and the weave-and-overlay form the shoulders.  The points are overlapped to the outside of basket and secured with a bead. 

For more information on kit contact -  kkotecki@lasmilwaukee.com

Stay Calm and Weave On

In the midst of these challenging days as a result of the  coronavirus, known as COVID-19, I turn to the calming effect of weaving.

Following a pattern by Annetta Kraayveld, I wove this small paper vessel.  The paper strips were pre-painted, black on one side and turquoise on the other.

5 3/4" x 2"  3 1/4"

The rectangle vessel is woven using a 2/2 twill.  Overlays of turquoise paper and copper strips create a diamond pattern on the front and wraps around the side of the shape.

The paper rim is lashed with waxed linen

Bird Nest Melon Basket

I experimented with mixed media in this 12" melon basekt.  I used twisted grapevine for the handle and rim frame.  Flat dyed reed was woven as a God's Eye to join the two circle of grapevine.  I continued to weave with a combination of cane, reed, and some hairy yarn as I inserted ribs of flat oval reed and willow.  The color scheme is nature's brown, greens, ochre and tans. 

The basket reminds me of a birds next.  Often birds will add pieces of thread and yarn to their nests as they build them.

Closeup of the mixed media weaving 

Guilders' Weave 2020 - Weaving for the ❤of it !!

I spent another wonderful weekend with talented instructors, fellow basket makers, friends old and new during Guilders' Weave 2020.   Everyone stayed true to the weekend theme.... Weaving for the  ❤ of it.  There were so many classes to choose from.  It was hard to pick which one I loved best!

Thursday evening I wove a Birch Bark Necklace under the direction of Carolyn Kemp.  The mini basket was woven from birch bark, raffia, and bear grass.  Waxed linen and seed beads
were used for highlights









Friday I concentrated on refining techniques including chase weaving, four rod wale and decreasing rows.  Annetta Kraayveld designed and taught a basket to keep us focused on balanced shaping and finishing with a Gretchen border to have a smooth and seamless rim.   A string of beads was added to the center dip of the basket.

Basket workshops allow for learning new crafts and working with unfamiliar media.  I took advantage of this by working with Mary Normand to make an Angel Wing Broom. I used hurl (processed and trimed boomcorn) and the "stacked bundle method to form a flattened hand broom.  The handle portion was covered in applied broomcorn stems which were woven to make a smooth and decorative handle  This was my first time to make a broom.  Mary also showed us how to make a small whisk and pot scrubber with the same materials.  

I concluded my weekend making a Pine Needle and Cabochon Pendant taught by Jean Koon. I used waxed linen to coil the pine needle bundle around the cabochon one time.  The braided leather necklace is attached to pine needle coil. 

To learn more go to the the Tidewater Basketry Guild's website  -

www.tidewaterbasketryguild.org

Start the New Year off right - Join a Basket Guild.

Why join a basket guild?  There are so many reasons.....continue a traditional art, learn new techniques, make new friends, work with natural materials..... the list goes on and on.

I joined the Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild several years ago.  Since then I have made numerous baskets of all types of materials, traveled to basket conventions, refined my basketmaking skills and made great friends along the way.

The Jan/Feb issue of the Pennsylvania Magazine includes an article about basketry and the CPBWG guild.  It was written by our guild secretary and includes three of my photos.  Check it out!