But basket making is woodworking!

I just finished a basketry course with installation artist, Ursula A. Johnson, which was quite fascinating. Not only did I come away with lots of great instruction on how to make a basket but also lots of appreciation for all of the work involved in creating one. I also happily came home with a small basket of my own:

The basket I made is made of White Ash with a Sweetgrass accented handle and a bit of red dyed Ash for contrast. It is about 4″ tall and 2″ in diameter. It was made in the ‘kloqowej’, or star, style. Which means that the basket has a circular bottom with a star pattern.

It is very light and although it appears to be fragile I was quite surprised at just how strong it is. It would take a fair amount of pressure to crush it. It is easy to see why baskets would have been used extensively for storage and transporting.

Continue reading 'Basket Making With Ursula Johnson'

I had a chance this past weekend to visit a couple of local woodworking related events. This first one combined my love of working with wood with my interest in Mi’kmaq and Native art. It was a day related to basket making appropriately called ‘Basketry Day’. The day was organized by The Nova Scotia Basketry Guild in celebration of their 20th anniversary.

The event opened with a Mi’kmaq drum ceremony and continued throughout the day with lectures and basket making demonstrations. In addition to the focus on Mi’kmaq basketry there were also talks and demonstrations on the Nantucket and Shaker style baskets.

I was most interested in the Mi’kmaq style of basket making and was not disappointed.

An excellent demonstration was done by retired Chief Greg McEwan of the Bear River First Nations. He lives in the village of Bear River, an artisan community located a few miles upstream from the Annapolis Basin in Western Nova Scotia, where he also operates a basket shop called Beartown Baskets. The photo above shows a great example of his work.

Continue reading 'A Great Day For Making Baskets'