Guild Meetings
2022 - 2023 Guild Meeting Programs (Sept-August)
- Sept 14, 2022. Barbara Shapiro (Zoom Only)
- Oct 12, 2022. Matt Wood (Antique American Indian Arts) (Zoom Only)
- Nov 9, 2022. Holiday Gift Exchange (in-person and Zoom)
- Jan 11, 2023. Joe Van Wassenhove AND David Chambers (Hybrid)
- Feb 8, 2023. Mo Walrath, Willowwork (Hybrid)
- Mar 8, 2023. Annual Meeting (Hybrid)
- April 12, 2023. Jill Green (Hybrid)
- May 10, 2023. Barbara Osborne (Hybrid)
- June 14, 2023. Cathryn Peters (Zoom Only)
June 14, 2023 (Wednesday): Cathryn Peters : "A Weaver’s Journey of Connection through Seatweaving & Basketweaving"
Please join us Wednesday, June 14th at 6:30pm (ZOOM ONLY) to hear a presentation by Guild Member Cathryn Peters who will discuss her journey with seat and basket weaving.
“Wisconsin weaver, Cathryn Peters has been wickin’ for nearly 50 years and will share her journey of community through the years in both chair seat weaving and basket weaving which are both near and dear to her heart.
Peters’ journey has been colorful and exciting, presenting some unusual opportunities for personal growth and exploration as well as preserving the age-old, traditional weaving arts and hand crafts of seat weaving and basket making.
From organizing and founding the only chair caning guild in the US, traveling to England on a Fellowship grant to study with Olivia Elton Barratt, weaving four wicker airplane seats for the Johnson Wax Company’s replica Sikorsky S-38 amphibian airplane and a duplicate plane that was used in the Howard Hughes movie The Aviator, having her hand-twisted rush seatweaving talents included in Nancy Hiller’s 2017 book, English Arts and Crafts Furniture, to her award-winning antler basket sculptures, there’s always something to look forward to.
Get a glimpse of Cathryn’s wickin’ journey and what’s going on behind the scenes in The Wicker Woman’s Weaving Studio of today and yesteryear!”
MEETING DETAILS: June 14th, 2023 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday. Cathryn’s presentation will begin around 7:15. This meeting will be on ZOOM ONLY. We’ll be back to hybrid meetings in September.
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HOW TO JOIN THE MEETING by ZOOM: Access Information will be sent by Guild eNews email on the Friday before the meeting, and is also published in the Guild Newsletter.
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PARTICIPATED IN A ZOOM MEETING:
you know the drill.
IF YOU ARE NEW TO ZOOM:
you will need to have the Zoom Client App on your device (computer, tablet, phone). The easiest way to do this is to go to the following URL: https://zoom.us/test
You will be asked if you want to download the Zoom Client, and given the opportunity to test your connection.
Alternatively, for laptop or desktop, you can use your web browser to go to https://zoom.us/ and download the Zoom Client App (click on “RESOURCES” and then “Download Zoom Client” and follow instructions). For tablet or phone, go to your App store and Search and download the Zoom Client. Again, go to https://zoom.us/test to test your connection.
When it is time for the actual meeting, you need only click on the URL in a recent eNews email; you will be asked if you want to open Zoom, and offered instructions on how to continue.
TEST YOUR CONNECTION: again, after you have installed the Zoom Client App, you can test your connection by going to
https://zoom.us/test in your web browser, and following instructions.
We look forward to seeing all of you!Ju e
May 10, 2023 (Wednesday): Barbara Osborne: "Pine Needle Journey From Oyster Shells to Abalone Shells"
Please join us Wednesday, May 10th at 6:30pm to hear a presentation by Guild Member Barbara Osborne who will discuss her journey with coiled baskets.
From Barbara: “People always ask me ‘Where do you get your ideas from’. Mostly my ideas come from the questions, ‘How do I . . .’and ‘What if I . . . ‘. This presentation will show examples of and explore how I have answered those questions.”
MEETING DETAILS: May 10th, 2023 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday. Barbara’s presentation will begin around 7;30. This meeting will be hybrid, held both in-person at the PNC and via Zoom.
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HOW TO JOIN THE MEETING by ZOOM: Access Information will be sent by Guild eNews email on the Friday before the meeting, and is also published in the Guild Newsletter.
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PARTICIPATED IN A ZOOM MEETING:
you know the drill.
IF YOU ARE NEW TO ZOOM:
you will need to have the Zoom Client App on your device (computer, tablet, phone). The easiest way to do this is to go to the following URL: https://zoom.us/test
You will be asked if you want to download the Zoom Client, and given the opportunity to test your connection.
Alternatively, for laptop or desktop, you can use your web browser to go to https://zoom.us/ and download the Zoom Client App (click on “RESOURCES” and then “Download Zoom Client” and follow instructions). For tablet or phone, go to your App store and Search and download the Zoom Client. Again, go to https://zoom.us/test to test your connection.
When it is time for the actual meeting, you need only click on the URL in a recent eNews email; you will be asked if you want to open Zoom, and offered instructions on how to continue.
TEST YOUR CONNECTION: again, after you have installed the Zoom Client App, you can test your connection by going to
https://zoom.us/test in your web browser, and following instructions.
We look forward to seeing all of you!
April 12, 2023 (Wednesday): Jill Green: "Tales from the Burke"
Please join us Wednesday, April 12th at 6:30pm to hear a presentation by Guild Member Jill Green on her curatorial activities with the basket collection at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum, a collection that includes aproximately 10,000 basket or basket-related objects collected with a focus on Pacific Rim cultures.
From Jill: “I will talk about volunteering at the Burke Museum’s Arts and Culture Department. My major activity is to describe donated baskets for the database. You could try this experience by looking at a one of your baskets and writing a description of it. To get you started here are some of the questions I ask when I write a description: What culture is it?; What kind of basket is it?; How was it used?; Size and dimensions?; What materials and techniques were used to make it? Describe its colors, designs, the start or base, the sides, rim and lid, and the condition of the basket.
My talk will include some of the unusual things I have found in various baskets that I have worked with. I love finding these surprises and call them quirky baskets.”
MEETING DETAILS: April 12, 2023 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday. Jill’s presentation will begin about 7:15. To accommodate additional planned activities, Announcements and Show & Share will begin at 6:45. This meeting will be hybrid, held both in-person at the PNC and via Zoom.
Additional Information about this meeting…
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March 8, 2023 (Wednesday): Annual Guild Meeting
Please join us Wednesday, March 8th at 6:30pm for our Annual Guild Meeting. This is an important meeting for the Guild where we have reports from the various committees, get an update on membership and Retreat, hear about the financial health of the Guild, and vote for our new Board nominees. We will also be asking for questions and input from the audience.
This year’s meeting will be both in-person and via Zoom. If attending in-person please wear a mask. Vaccinations are recommended but not required.
ADDED VALUE: For those attending in-person remember to bring your extra basket materials and supplies. Starting at 6:30pm we will have a materials exchange and orphan table so you can trade or pass long items you no longer need. Rumor has it there will be yarn, reed, grasses and more!
At the meeting, we will have our annual changing of the guard on the Board of Directors. We will present a list of nominees for the Board of Directors to replace those retiring. Meeting attendees will be asked if there are any other nominees from the floor before we vote. Please refer to the Bylaws (p.9) and Standing Rules (p.12) of the Guild Handbook for a description of the terms and duties for Board members.
- After the vote, the Board will break away from the general meeting for a few minutes.
- During this time, the general meeting will have show-and-share, so be ready with your latest accomplishments.
- The evening will conclude when the Board returns to present to the membership your new slate of Officers for 2023.
Zoom meeting information will be sent via email and posted on our website before the 8th.
NWBW BOARD ELECTION, DETAILS:
We currently have 11 members on the Board of directors, which meets our Standing Rules recommendation of 9 to 12 Board members. However, if opening the floor to additional nominees results in more than 12 potential Board members, we may ask if any nominees wish to withdraw before the vote.
We have 3 members leaving the board this year, Vivien Sharples, Sue Van Wassenhove, and Becky Drew. We have 4 nominees, so far, who have offered to take their place: Darcy Maclaren, Kadey Ambrose, Margreet De Leeuw, and Erin Quann. You can read their write-ups in the February newsletter.
Please join us on March 8th to say thank you to the members leaving the Board and to cast your vote for our Board nominees. Remember to bring your extra basketry materials and supplies with you to the meeting room, and have your show-and-share pieces ready to talk about. Keep an eye out for Zoom information in your email inbox, or you can find it on our website.
MEETING DETAILS: March 8, 2023 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday (normal meeting day). This meeting will be hybrid, held both in-person at the PNC and via Zoom.
February 8, 2023 (Wednesday): Mo Walrath - Willowwork.
Maureen (Mo) Walrath will join us via Zoom from Port Townsand to share her her experiences, experiments, and inspirations with basketry.
Mo is devoted to willow and tending the living tradition of basket weaving as a form of ancestral communication and as response to the ever changing needs of the living world. She is a mother, basket / coffin maker, teacher, student of birth, death, burial, and blood mysteries, reverent farmer, and threshold worker providing care for her community in emergent ways through the vessels she weaves.
She learned to weave willow baskets in the Coast Range of Oregon – connecting her craft with the life of plants. There she learned about willow, the growing rhythms and patterns, the harvesting and curing of the plant for weaving, and teaching others to weave.
Mo is a guest on S’Klallam land in rain-shadowed Port Townsend, WA, where cormorants dive and eagles tell glacial memory sky stories, with ancestral lines from the west coast of Ireland and Main River lands in Germany.
MEETING DETAILS: Feb 8, 2023 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday (normal meeting day). This meeting will be hybrid, held both in-person at the PNC and via Zoom.
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January 11, 2023 (Wednesday):
Joe Van Wassenhove - Mini-Hearts Workshop
David Chambers - Engineered by Hand.
- Please join us for our January 11th Guild meeting via Zoom, or preferably in-person if you can make it. We have a special evening planned with heart-shaped ornaments and a basketry presentation. The gathering will begin at 6:30 as usual. But, Show and Share and Announcements will begin before 7:00pm to allow time for our other evening’s events.
We will begin and end the evening with a mini-workshop with Joe Van Wassenhove. Joe will show us the first steps of a lovely heart-shaped ornament, just in time for Valentine’s Day. We will set aside the hearts for the glue to dry and have a presentation by David Chambers talking about his wonderful baskets. The evening will conclude with Joe showing us the final steps to finish our hearts.
Below is more information about the heart ornaments and about David Chambers’ presentation.
Ornaments Mini-Workshop with Joe Van Wassenhove.
We will all follow along with Joe as he shows us the steps to prepare and assemble our heart ornaments. There will be instructions and materials for those in the room. A $1 donation will cover the cost for each heart. Please remember to bring tools as listed below.
For those joining us via Zoom, you can play along too. Instructions are linked below, along with a list of required materials and tools.
HAND OUT / INSTRUCTIONS (Click HERE). This project is modified from one offered free by Joyce Lantz through the Basket Makers Catalog where you will also find a YouTube video demonstration of the project.
Materials and Tools list (modified for Guild Meeting):
<> 1/4″ recycled paper craft tape or 1/4″ flat flat basketry reed (choose flexible pieces!) in the color(s) of your choice (About 6 ft of length per heart)
<> 20 toothless micro-clips (for the craft tape) or 2″ spring clips (for the basketry reed). Anything too powerful or too toothy will leave marks.
<> A pair of utility scissors or basketry shears
<> Elmer’s or fast-drying glue
<> Plus, 1 foot of ribbon if you want to hang your heart
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Presentation by David Chambers – Engineered by Hand
Twenty years ago, I decided to try my hand at basket example #1 in a Jeannie McFarland’s book “Pine Needle Raffia Basketry”. It was like somebody had turned on a light switch and I could see all the seemingly infinite creative possibilities of basketry. I was hooked!
Being an engineer, now retired, I like problem solving and love a good challenge. I decided to challenge myself to make baskets that were different from anything else I could find. Whether it was a different shape or pattern, or maybe a different material, as long as they met my requirement that a basket is a container. After twenty years that requirement has gotten a bit lax.
Because of my engineering background I plan first. I sketch, calculate, make samples, resketch, recalculate, and so on. This cycle is repeated as many times as it takes to come up with something that makes me happy. Then I can start weaving. My goal is to make something unique, entertaining, and pleasing to look at.
Please join me as I present my work and try to explain my baskets. I will bring some baskets with me to look at and play with.
MEETING DETAILS: Jan 11, 2023 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday (normal meeting day). This meeting will be hybrid, held both in-person at the PNC and via Zoom.
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November 9, 2022 (Wednesday): Annual Gift Exchange!
Barbara Osborne has once again done a wonderful job of organizing our gift exchange between members scattered across 4 states and 2 Canadian provinces. We did the gift exchange both in-person and via Zoom last year and it was a rousing success; both in-person and Zoom participants will again share with each other through Zoom. Come join us this year for the fun, excitement, and probably a few surprises.
As this is will be a hybrid meeting, you are welcome to attend either in-person or by using the Zoom App. As usual for this meeting there will be no formal presentation, only social interaction and Gift Exchange. There will again be No Potluck this year due to Covid; however, you may bring a personal snack if you need.
Regarding Covid-19, we are asking in-person participants to be vaccinated and to wear masks in the presence of others. If you are not feeling completely healthy, please stay home and join us on Zoom. But we sincerely hope to see many of you in-person!
MEETING DETAILS: Nov, 9 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday (normal meeting day). This meeting will be hybrid, held both in-person at the PNC and via Zoom.
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October 12, 2022 (Wednesday): Matt Wood - Antique American Indian Arts
Our September presenter is Matt Wood. Raised in Southern California, Matt has been a life-long outdoor enthusiast, musician, and Indian art dealer. Matt has traveled extensively throughout the United States researching, buying and selling fine North American Indian art and artifacts. He lectures in both private and public settings, with a particular focus on the history and analysis of Navajo rugs, native basketry and pueblo pottery. He also exhibits his finest artifacts at major trade shows across the nation throughout the year. Married to his life partner Cynthia, and having raised two daughters and now with three grandchildren, Matt is looking forward to sharing his story, and the artifacts he has found. Learn more at his website https://www.antiqueamericanindianart.com/ or follow him on Facebook.
MEETING DETAILS: Oct, 12 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday (normal meeting day). This meeting will be held on Zoom only.
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September 14, 2022 (Wednesday): Barbara Shapiro
Our September presenter is Barbara Shapiro. Barbara will share 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. Unfinished and abandoned projects from years ago were seen with new eyes and finally finished. Newly discovered materials inspired different ways of working. And as always, Indigo colored her materials. Barbara hopes to inspire you to look at your own work in new ways as you enjoy this saga of 20-22 in her studio in the time of Covid. More information to follow. Learn more about Barbara from her website: https://www.barbarashapiro.com/gallery/baskets
MEETING DETAILS: Sept. 14 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday (normal meeting day). This meeting will be held on Zoom only.