Monday, November 28, 2011

Introducing Wilderness Basketry

Every year I do 2-3 shows out of my home as a special treat for those on my email list. My annual holiday show and sale is fast approaching!  On Dec 3 & 4 at my home in Southworth shoppers will find Beadware's jewelry and gifts, beautiful fused glassware by Blue Fox Glass, and herbed olive oils and homemade jams of PNW Plants as well as music by Past Tunes and a hands-on basketry demo. Each day this week I will profile one of the artistisans.


Sunday will feature a hands-on basketry demo by Jo and George Hart of Wilderness Basketry. Jo grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, near Berea. She has 2 passions in life, plants and basketry. She has studied with many Native American master basket weavers from the Pacific Northwest plus local basket artists as well as a noted Applachian white oak basket maker. She has been a member of the Seattle Vi Phillips Basketry Guild for many years and has taught in Washington and Oregon. Her work has been displayed in the Kitsap County Indian Museum, local libraries, local and state fairs, and in Washington galleries.  Recently, she was featured in a basketry article in the Westsound Home and Garden Magazine.


Her husband, George, grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He is a wildlife biologist by trade and has devoted many years to the gathering, harvesting, and preparation of natural materials. He has also studied with Native American and local artists. He uses cedar bark, cedar and spruce roots, and local grasses and sedges in his baskets. His prefered technique is coiling.

On their website you can see last years class schedule. They teach in their studio located in Seabeck.You'll also be treated to a view of their amazing gardens!

Come learn from these skilled experts how to make your own cedar ornament. Demos will start Sunday at 1pm.


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