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This is an opportunity for any Guild member to sell their baskets to other members, friends, and the public. It’s also a chance for those with a little “inventory” to sell in a friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. To register and learn more, click on this event.
Like many of us, Anne Bowers discovered basketry – and the rest, as they say, is history. But unlike most of us, she turned her passion into her career. Anne, who lives in West Virginia, will be the 2025 Tidal Twinings Retreat Featured Teacher, and our December meeting will be a good time for CBBG members to meet her and see her work. Join us on Zoom. Anne will show us her studio, some of her newer baskets, and explain the style of ribbed basket weaving.
Join instructor Chris Bush, of Twisted Fibers Basketry, in this 3-hour online class; you will weave a miniature market-style basket. The skills you will learn are: creating an open weave base, continuous weave for the sides, a reed handle, and lashing the rim with waxed linen. Your completed piece will be about 2-1/2” wide and tall, plus handle.
Explore the basics of weaving a simple basket with this fun mini-heart design. This class will cover weaving a heart-shaped base with flat reed spokes, single twining the sides, and finishing with a simple lashed rim with sea grass. We will use flat reed, cane, plain & colored round reed, and sea grass. You finished project will be 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 2 1/4".
Weave a large 13"w x 8"d x 16"h basket backpack out of rattan/reed. In this 2-day class you will cut & lay out your stakes, weave a closed base, use continuous weave to build your shape, lash a rim with a handle, and make your own cotton pack-basket harness. This basket is great for trips to the farmers’ market, garden harvests, hiking, foraging, or to use as hanging storage on your wall.
Do you love designing with color and pattern? Do you love wearable art? Do you love minis? If you said yes to any of the above then this is the class for you! We will design and make 1-2 tiny baskets. You will have a chance to decide on size, pattern, color, and whether or not you’d like to wear your piece(s). We will choose to work with a mix of waxed linen, embroidery thread, and wool yarn to create our pieces.
Mark your calendars: CBBG volunteers are currently working on organizing another Spring Zoom-in! The event is scheduled for March 25-29, 2025. We hope to offer 9-10 classes across five days. We currently are recruiting teachers and local Zoom hosts for the event; click this event to learn more.
At the Guild’s November 2024 general member meeting, we will have a hands-on project. Barbara Kommer will teach us how to make Flo Hoppe’s reed medallion. This class is online via Zoom, and registrants will receive mailed materials.
In this short concept class, you will learn how to design and size a Sally bag using your preferred materials. We also will discuss the Native American origins of these bags, which were used for root gathering. This is an online, 3-hour workshop for those who are familiar with full-turn twining and, preferably, have made at least one Sally bag. Class will be presentation and discussion; we will not weave.
This online mini class will teach you a surprisingly simple twist on coiling. Beginning lower on the gourd, you will move up to the rim instead of starting on the rim. Use natural Danish cord and waxed linen thread to coil for the natural look you want.
In this online class you will learn how to start a pine needle basket on a decorative center using basic stitches and embellishments.
During October's General Meeting, we will talk with textile artist Barbara Shapiro. Barbara has created textile art for decades, combining rich knowledge of historical and ethnic textiles with broad technical experience in weaving, dyeing, and basketry. She will share with us the productive burst of artistic output inspired by moving her studio in January 2020 and by current personal and political events. The sequestration that Covid forced upon us all brought forth lots of new work in several series.
In this 3-hour class you will make a small pouch of deer hide that has been tanned in the traditional indigenous way - using the brains of the deer. We will sew it with artificial sinew and fit it with a drawstring neck band.
CBBG will once again retreat to the Oregon Coast for its annual weaving event, Wednesday-Sunday, September 11-15, 2024. Lodging, meals, and class sessions are held at Camp Magruder in Rockaway Beach. In addition to a full slate of classes, retreat activities include: an attendee gallery show, an auction, and a keynote presentation by the year’s featured teacher, Australian sculptural weaver Lissa-Jane de Sailles. For complete details, click this event to view the Registration Brochure. Registration is open May 8 through July 6, 2024.
Support your fellow Guild members at the opening of the CBBG show at the Hoffman Center for the Arts, in Manzanita, Oregon, this September. The show, “Broad and Boundless, the Many Waves of Weaving with the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild,” will feature 15 Guild member artists.
Make 3 different willow frames (oval, rectangular and leaf-shaped) for future baskets. Frames, and the baskets/tray you can make from them, are seen in the accompanying photo. Willow handling and knife work will be taught. You will learn how to shape large willow rods into 3 different frames.
Gather cattails with the Guild, in Gaston, Oregon. There is a $10 gathering fee; the cattails are located on private land, and we will practice sustainable harvesting, leaving No Trace Behind.
A gifted set of instructors are gathering for Basket Day 2024. They will be offering 4 different classes using natural and abundant materials, along with opportunities to learn about preparing cedar bark! Learn to: prepare your own cedar bark; weave a basket with native blackberry vines; make a birch bark trinket canister; and/or weave a bark basket necklace!
Over the course of two days the students will be guided through the construction of a round or oval-handled basket. Students will have the opportunity to learn to make an oval base, and use several different weaves for the sides of the basket including wailing, slewing, and French randing. When the sides are completed a rod border will tie it all together and a willow handle and a foot can be added to make this the perfect basket!
CBBG is hosting a sweetgrass gathering for members! The cost is $10; the gathering site is located in Tillamook, Oregon, near Cape Meares, about 2 ½ hours from Portland. More information regarding the location will be sent to registrants, closer to the gathering date.
CBBG will demonstrate basket and cordage making in July and needs member volunteers. No experience necessary. Bring any basket project to work on and demonstrate to those who stop by. We also will show visitors how to make cordage and help them fashion a quick bracelet.
Join the Guild’s Summer Potluck Party at the Multnomah Arts Center. Bring your favorite dish to share (with serving utensils). CBBG will provide beverages and chocolate cake! Please arrive early and help with setting up tables and chairs, organizing the raffle tables, and distributing raffle tickets.
This workshop will focus on twining using waxed linen. Students will explore the many possibilities of creating patterns and textural effects as well as ideas for color selection. The more adventurous weavers can explore advanced techniques of shaping. A good working knowledge of twining will be helpful, but beginners are welcome.
This class will prepare a base for the Twining Workshop with Claudia Mullek on Saturday, July 13, and Sunday, July 14. Basic twining skills will be taught so that the structure of the stitches can be studied in preparation for Clauda’s workshop. Students will twine a base of waxed linen using S and Z twining and learn basic color-changing techniques. There will be an introduction to full turn twining.
Volunteer to help maintain the willow plot and to collect willow bark at CBBG’s Our Table (OT) willow plot this Sunday, July 7, 2024, 8-10am. A hot day is predicted.
This is primarily a technique class on how to lay out a uniform pattern and do single-needle appliqué of beads. The project we will complete is about 1.25” in diameter. We will do a finish for the end and mount a pin on the back, so your piece can be worn.
In this class, we will be learning an ancient weaving technique called knotless netting to weave a net around stones. We will talk about some of the ways knotless netting has been used traditionally, and, through learning this skill, spend some time connected to this lineage of human endeavor. You will have time to weave between 3-5 stones.
Our June general meeting will feature a presentation by Shyla Spicer, President & CEO of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF). NACF is a philanthropic resource supporting the diverse arts and cultures of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities. It is headquartered in Portland. Shyla will share NACF history, its work with Native artists, grants programs, and community engagement.
We will gather the bark of the Oregon native tree Prunus emarginata (common names: bitter cherry, wild cherry, and quinine cherry). The trees on the site are mostly young trees ranging from 4 - 8 inches in diameter. We can get inner and outer bark. This is a small gathering, with a maximum registration of 7 people.
Guild volunteers will meet at the Our Table willow plot to weed, maintain the landscape fabric, and do other willow gardening chores. All Guild members are welcome to join in this volunteer effort. Wear appropriate gardening gear and come prepared for the weather. As a bonus for your efforts, for each volunteer hour you will earn a $5 credit (called Willow Bucks) toward either the purchase of OT-grown willow or toward the material fee of a Guild-sponsored willow class in which OT willow is used.
Learn how to harvest willow bark and take some home! Due to the limited amount of willow grown for bark, there will not be large amounts available. But you will learn how to harvest and be able to take some home. We will meet at the fenced willow plot, located at Our Table Cooperative Farm.
We will be gathering the bark of Prunus emarginata (common names: bitter cherry, wild cherry, quinine cherry). It is native to Oregon. The trees are located on private land; if possible, bring a small thank you gift for our host. This is a very small gathering, with a maximum registration of 3 people.
CBBG will be showing at Hoffman Center for the Arts in Manzanita, OR, for the month of September. Hoffman is a central part of the arts community on the Oregon coast and has a fantastic community of art enthusiasts. This is going to be an exciting show, and we want YOU to participate! We are looking for Guild weavers to submit 1-4 pieces to be displayed as part of our show. Our show’s theme is “Broad and Boundless, the many waves of weaving with the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild”. Click this event to learn more.
Cedar bark (Thuja plicata) gathering is scheduled for Friday, May 17, 2024, 9:30am. This gathering is at Kalama Forest Products in Kalama, Washington. 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.
Dave Ketah, Tlingit artist, will present his personal journey and how his career as an artist is a product of surprising opportunities. His art follows the tradition of Tlingit carving and design; in recent years, he has become immersed in the design and carving tradition of his ancestors, working mostly in wood.
This is a special Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) gathering of trees cut from Hopkins Demonstration Forest delivered to SE Portland. This is a very small gathering with a limit of 6 registrants. Each paid gatherer will receive one 8ft long length (approximately) with a diameter of 4-6 inches. Peeled at the site or taken home.
Join reed basket weaver, Brittany Stanton, to learn a classic basket shape called the bean pot. Crafted for shelling beans in the past, this historic basket shape has evolved to become a perfect planter, shopping companion, storage solution, or elegant gift basket. While learning to weave a bean pot basket, you will learn the intricate techniques behind the twined round base, stair-step continuous woven walls, x-lashed rim, & wire handle that finish this basket.
