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The Columbia Basin Basketry Guild is sponsoring a basket sale for its members. This is an opportunity for any Guild member to sell baskets to other members, friends, and the public. It will be free to attend, open to the public, and held during the Multnomah Arts Center Winter Arts & Crafts Sale in December. Click this event to learn more and to sign up.
The willow leaves are dropping, signaling that time is near for CBBG members to begin reaping our seventh season’s growth at the Our Table Cooperative farm. Harvesting is a lot of fun, and we need your assistance leading the harvest days in January and early February 2026 to keep our willow project rolling. Click this event to learn more.
Support your Guild! Buy a CBBG logo shirt, hoodie, apron, or tote. Proceeds from your purchase support our partnership project with Northwest tribes and tribal members to produce an Indigenous Basketry Map. This map will showcase tribal regions and basketry styles as well as basketry plants and ecosystems. The Indigenous Basketry Map is a much-needed resource for exhibits, outreach, and education, uplifting the traditional art of basketry. Click here to shop.
Join us for our general meeting, where Barbara Berk will give an overview of her career, which spans more than three decades. She will show examples of her award-winning jewelry, which is woven by hand, off loom, with high karat gold and platinum sheet and wire. She will also present her sculptures, which are created with ribbons and crescents of bobbin lace; she makes these by hand, with stainless steel and phosphor bronze wire.
Create this unique wooden-based reed tote with leather handles & one-of-a-kind painted paper accents. We'll begin by gluing flat reed spokes into a slotted wood base. A wide variety of paper choices will be available for you to select from along with brown, black or navy leather handles. This is a great tote for carrying your lunch or basket weaving supplies in style!
In this online class we will be creating on the edge of form and function. We will be learning how to set the frame shape, a figure 8 or over under pattern to weave it and how to add ribs to the form when the weaving gets too wide. We will be using undyed reed in different sizes to create these shapes. Make a beautiful leaf/boat/crescent shaped tray with us! Finished trays will measure between 12”-16” long and 4”-6” wide.
Join us for our November Hands-on General Meeting, where we will be making Swedish stars! Swedish stars, also known as a Froebel star or Scandinavian star, is a decoration often used as an ornament or part of holiday decor. These stars can be made from various materials like newspaper, maps, or decorative paper and are known for their intricate folding and weaving.
Three days immersed in weaving under the guidance of master willow weavers, Willow Fest Northwest brings together world-class instructors in an immersive class format to provide a welcoming, in-depth weaving opportunity. You will take one class over three days surrounded by the laughter and joy of other willow enthusiasts. Each class will be limited in size to ensure an optimal learning environment where you can build on your prior willow weaving experience. Share your love of willow with classmates over lunch each day (BYO). You will have evenings on your own to explore the greater Seattle area, gather with new friends, or rest up for continuing your project the next morning.
Join Cael Chappell for this unusual class on twining soft materials for every skill level from beginner to advanced. This class will be a lot about materials exploration and refining twining. Find any flexible cord in your environment and let’s work together on twining it into a basket!
We have received a request from Our Table for some of the fruits of our basketry labors, and we would love to honor our ongoing partnership with gifts. Do you have a medium or small basket you could donate to their cause? Our Table’s goal: To assemble up to 50 holiday gift baskets to sell using baskets made by CBBG members. Click this event to learn more.
Make that gift card a special present with this cute little presentation basket. It is just the right size at 3"L x 1.5"W x 7"H to top of handle. Techniques include twining and simple over-under weaving with round and flat reed. Embellish with dyed reed (included) or other decoration. This is a pattern by Jan Oberlag, taught with her permission.
Join us for our October General Meeting, where we will be talking with Linda Hendrickson. Linda Hendrickson is a Portland fiber artist and teacher, and the author of How to Make Ply-Split Baskets and How to Make Ply-Split Braids & Bands. She learned the basics of ply-split braiding in a workshop with the renowned British weaver Peter Collingwood in 1993, and has been exploring the possibilities ever since.
Create a Coiled Gourd piece drawing inspiration from Mimbres pottery. In this class, you’ll attach hand-dyed Danish cord to a gourd’s edge with waxed linen cord, transition between open and closed coiling to create stair steps, and add beads for decoration. Coiling experience is helpful but not required.
In this 3-hour class, we’ll work with western red cedar bark (Thuja plicata) to learn how to weave in three directions (triaxial weaving) to create a hexagonal pattern, and we’ll learn how to do a basic rim around the basket. Your finished piece will be roughly 2" tall x 3.5" diameter, and works well for holding small trinkets, or it can be displayed as a sculptural object!
Columbia Basin Basketry Guild (CBBG) will once again head to the Oregon coast for its Tidal Twinings Retreat, our annual weaving event, Wednesday-Sunday, September 10-14, 2025. Click this event to see the registration brochure. Registration runs from May 8-July 3.
This year we are offering a work-exchange opportunity to nine attendees at the Guild’s Tidal Twinings retreat, September 10-14, 2025 at Camp Magruder (17450 Old Pacific Hwy, Rockaway Beach, OR). Help set up and break down the dining hall one day for all 3 meals and earn a $175 credit toward your retreat registration, meals, and lodging.
The Guild has a wonderful opportunity to harvest tule (Scirpus acutus), also known as bulrush, rush, hardstem bulrush. The wetland is private and protected and held in trust through Portland Wetland Conservancy. Click this event to learn more.
Join us for our 4th Monday Mini Class in August: Paper Twist Basketry with Celeste Whitewolf. We will wrap yarn around a firm supporting material, row by row. The wrapped yarn is secured by anchoring to the row below. The base can be circular or oval. The sides are done "free-hand." Color change will create your design.
A gifted set of instructors are gathering for Basket Day in the Park 2025. We will be offering 6 different classes using natural materials, along with opportunities to learn about preparing cedar bark! Basket Day in the Park is a special class opportunity for members only, in which the Guild pays the class fee and students pay only the material fee. Click this event to see the afternoon classes, which include: Dogbane Cordage and a Look at Other Fiber Material; Diagonally Plaited Willow Bark Basket; Cedar Bark Tool Sheath.
A gifted set of instructors are gathering for Basket Day in the Park 2025. We will be offering 6 different classes using natural and abundant materials, along with opportunities to learn about preparing cedar bark! Basket Day in the Park is a special class opportunity for members only, in which the Guild pays the class fee and students pay only the material fee. Click this event to see the morning classes, which include: Ice Vessels in Bark and Leaf, Gourds 101, Lidded Cane & Electrical Wire Jam Jar.
Columbia Basin Basketry Guild is hosting their annual Cattails (Typha latifolia) Gathering. Click this event to learn more.
Create a soap dish with the tension tray technique. We will use round reed for this project. Your finished piece will measure: 6"x 7". You should have time to make two.
The Guild is hosting a Northwest Sweetgrass (Schoenoplectus pungens) gathering. The gathering site is located in Tillamook near Cape Meares, about 2 ½ hours from Portland. More information regarding the location will be sent to registrants, closer to the gathering date.
This show features the work of 23 Guild member artists, and it showcases innovative and creative ways of reinterpreting a multitude of materials. From fabric to plastic bags, rope, cords, wire, food cartons, and even recording media: an array of discarded items have been saved from landfills and reworked in resourceful ways, creating new and useful artistic objects, vessels, and wall pieces. Come support your fellow Guild members, and experience fiber arts that make you rethink your vision of this medium, and realize it’s not what you thought it was!
The Guild will hold their annual Summer Potluck Party this July. Bring your favorite dish to share. CBBG will provide beverages.
Guild members are invited to our willow plot at the Our Table Cooperative farm to both learn about and help with willow growing. Initially we’ll take some time to evaluate the willow and our priorities for the day including our disease and pest issues. After finishing plot work for the day we will sell the Guild’s stored, dry willow.
Learn how to do God’s eye weaving in this 3-hour workshop. God’s eye weaving, or Ojo de Dios, is a simple weaving technique of Mexican origin which has spiritual significance to its original creators, the Huichol people of western Mexico. Often called god’s eyes, tsikuri (sometimes spelled ‘tzixuri’ or ‘sikuli’ ) are woven diamond-shapes, made by winding multi-colored wool in a simple pattern around four crossed sticks.
Maria Bullock was born and raised in Poland, surrounded by baskets commonly used in everyday life. After moving to the United States, she missed the feel of a basket in her hands. Maria now enjoys teaching workshops and private lessons in her new 7-month apprenticeship program in Washington State on Orcas Island, where she resides on a multiple family permaculture homestead. Maria will be an instructor teaching at Willow Fest Northwest this year.
Coiling is a fun and easy basket weaving technique. Learn how to attach hand-dyed Danish cord to the edge of a gourd, how to weave open and closed coiling, and how to attach a row of beads to the coil. Choose from several color combinations of gourds, Danish cord, and waxed linen thread to personalize your own creation. Select your color preference when you register. Jane will share her own technique of dyeing the gourd and cording to match. You should be able to finish this project in class. No weaving experience is required. Your finished piece will be about 5"x5"x4".
Oregon bitter cherry tree is a deciduous tree that grows in many forests across Oregon. The trees are native to western North America; the trunks appear to be dark reddish brown or gray with white splotches and horizontal lenticels (raised pores that allow for gas exchange through the bark). We will have the opportunity to get both inner and outer bark. This is a private land owner.
Join us for willow plot maintenance and willow bark harvest this June. Meet at the Guild’s willow plot (located at Our Table Cooperative) to weed the perimeter, maintain the landscape fabric, and do other willow gardening chores. We will work on the plot from 9am to 10:30am and harvest bark from 10:30am to noon. Wear appropriate gardening gear and come prepared for the weather.
Guild members are invited to our willow plot at the Our Table Cooperative farm to both learn about and help with willow growing. We will also have dry willow for sale.
Discover the beauty and resilience of birch bark by crafting a sturdy lidded basket in this immersive two-day class. You'll start by weaving a horizontal base while exploring the history, ecology, and harvesting techniques of the iconic white paper birch tree. Experience hands-on material processing as you split, snip, and grade raw bark into usable weaving material. You'll size and fit a custom lid for your basket, securing it with a natural root or stick hinge. The finished basket will measure approximately 7" x 5" x 5" — perfect for storing recipes, jewelry, or cherished trinkets.
The Guild’s cedar bark (Thuja plicata) gathering is scheduled for Friday, May 23, 2025, 9:30am PT. This gathering is at Kalama Forest Products in Kalama, WA. These are cut trees. You can get as much cedar as you can process that day. Processing means stripping sections from logs and then removing the outer bark. Click this event to learn more and sign up.
Dangle nature from a fresh perspective! In this creative workshop, you'll craft a beautiful hanging planter from ethically harvested white paper birch bark. As you weave this geometric basket, you'll gain hands-on experience with birch bark processing while learning about the history and ecological significance of this incredible natural material. This planter is designed to be around 4 inches in diameter, making it ideal for succulents, ivy, or air plants. You'll leave with a unique, handcrafted vessel ready to bring spring into your space.
2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Vancouver in 1825. For over 30 years, Fort Vancouver, located in present-day Vancouver, Washington, served as the fur trading company's administrative headquarters, and provided supplies for a network of forts in the region. In the Guild’s April general meeting, Meagan Huff will talk about her work with the museum collections at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, where today she serves as its curator.
