Meetings -

Guild Meetings

2024 - 2025 Guild Meeting Programs (Sept-August)

Sept 11, 2024. Mary Auld (hybrid, in-person talk)
Oct 9, 2024. Annetta Kraayeveld (Zoom Only)
Nov 13, 2024. Annual Gift Exchange (hybrid)
Jan 8, 2025. Joe Van Wassenhove (hybrid, in-person talk)
Feb 12, 2025. Gabriela Nirino, (hybrid, in-person talk)
Mar 12 Annual Meeting
April 9. Polly Sutton (hybrid, in-person talk)
May 15 (Thursday, 8PM) Beth Homa Kraus (from Retreat)
June 11 Sharle Osborne (Zoom Only)

Previous Years Programs (Sept-Aug):

ZOOM LINK FOR MEETINGS:
<> Guild Members Click Here (requires passord)
<> non-members may request link by email HERE
Meetings are open to the public and are held on the second Wednesday of the month, except for July, August, and December; 6:30-9:00 PM
COVID POLICY (Click Here) – Please visit our Meetings/Covid page for the most recent Guild Policy regarding Covid.
Zoom info will be sent to members via eNews the Friday prior to the meeting; non-members should contact Richard Vogt.
Location (in-person): Phinney Neighborhood Center Room 6 (upstairs), 6532 Phinney Ave. N Seattle, WA 98103.
Click HERE for a map.
6:30 – Socialize, Library
7:00 – Show and Tell.
7:15 – Announcements
7:30 – Program Begins

May 15, 2025 (Thursday, 8PM): Beth Homa Kraus --- (on Zoom, broadcast live from Retreat at Seabeck)

Please join us over Zoom for a live broadcast from Seabeck Conference Center of the NWBW Retreat Feature Teacher Beth Homa Kraus. Beth, affectionally known as ‘Birch Bark Beth’ is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She will be teaching several classes at the Guild’s 2025 Retreat where she is this year’s Feature Teacher. Each year, the Feature Teacher gives an approximately one hour talk; Beth’s talk will be about the overall life of a birch bark basket weaver – harvesting, processing, where it has taken her and the connections made.

You can learn more about Beth, aka Birch Bark Beth, from her website: https://birchbarkbeth.squarespace.com/

NOTE DAY – THURSDAY (not usual Wednesday)

About Beth:
Beth Homa Kraus uses sustainably harvested and hand processed bark from White Paper Birch tree to make woven items that can be used in everyday life, as well as in a gallery. By teaching classes and facilitating other learning opportunities in this handcraft, Beth focuses on building communities and celebrating the weaving traditions rooted many different cultures.

Join us via Zoom. Beth will be presenting from Seabeck Conference Center during Retreat.

MEETING DETAILS: 8:00 PM, May 15, 2025, THURSDAY, via Zoom from Seabeck (Retreat). Beth’s talk will begin @ 8:00PM.

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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, is published in the Guild Newsletter, and is also posted in the Members Only section of this website (access requires password).

Also, as meetings are open to the public, non-members who would like to participate via Zoom should send an email to: webadmin@nwbasketweavers.org

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 (https://zoom.us/ – click on “SIGN UP FOR FREE” – Zoom changes the location of this button every time I look, but with diligence you will find it – click and follow instructions). For tablet or phone, go to your App store and Search and download “Zoom Workplace” (or whatever Zoom is currently calling its App). 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 and also posted in the Members Only section of the website; 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!

June 11, 2025 (Wednesday): Sharle Osborne: "Sharle and Katherine’s Most Excellent Tour of the UK" --- (Zoom Only)

Please join us on Zoom (only) for a presentation by Guild member Sharle Osborne. During August and September 2024, Sharle taveled through the UK with Katherine Lewis on a 32 day Fiber Arts Road Trip. Through the magic of digital media, Sharle will take us along.

Sharle writes: “I knew the trip would be organized, I knew the food would be good and I knew we would have fun! Featuring the five day Tear Up Basketry Festival, two basket workshops, split oak baskets at the Bobbin Museum, baskets along the way and no shots of castles or gardens. One hat museum.”

About Sharle:
Sharle, living in Sequim WA, has been a member of NWBW for a bit under 30 years, attending all but two retreats since joining. Unable to attend Seattle evening meetings in person, she is now able to attend through zoom. Her presentation will be remote. Her baskets, made in the UK last summer, will be at Retreat to view in person.

MEETING DETAILS: June 11, 2025 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday, via Zoom Only.

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Also, as meetings are open to the public, non-members who would like to participate via Zoom should send an email to: webadmin@nwbasketweavers.org

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PARTICIPATED IN A ZOOM MEETING:
you know the drill.

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 9, 2025 (Wednesday): Polly Adams Sutton: "Loewe Craft Prize Adventure" --- (in-person and Zoom)

Please join us in-person at PNC and on Zoom for a presentation by Guild member Polly Adams Sutton. Using images of the 2024 Loewe Craft Prize exhibition held in Paris in May of 2024, Polly will attempt to capture the excitement of her sculptural basket being included in the grouping of 30 finalists for the prize.

Polly writes:
“It really was the honor and surprise of a lifetime, as I have been making sculptural cedar bark baskets to exhibit and teach for 40 years and suddenly this happens!”

About Polly:
For about 40 years, Polly has been a member of the Vi Phillips/NW Basketry Guild, having made her first basket at the Seattle Weaver’s Guild. Her teaching began at The Basketry School, which existed in Fremont for many years. Balancing teaching, raising kiddos and creating sculptural cedar bark baskets has culminated in receiving the SOLA (Support Old Lady Artists) award through Artist Trust, where years previously she received a GAP grant to investigate the basketry of Sardegna. Most recently her nine piece installation was acquired by the Smithsonian for the 50^th anniversary exhibit “This Present Moment” at the Renwick Gallery, 2022-2023.
Learn more about Polly’s work at https://www.pollyadamssutton.com/

Join us in-person at PNC or via Zoom from home. Polly will be presenting from PNC.

MEETING DETAILS: April 9, 2025 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday, at PNC.

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March 13, 2025 (Wednesday): Annual Meeting - IN PERSON (and Zoom)

Please join us in-person or on Zoom, March 12, for the Annual Guild Meeting. This is primarily a business meeting where you will:

be asked to approve the minutes of last year’s Annual meeting (see attached)
hear various reports on activites of the past and coming year
elect Board Officers
discuss various issues
vote on a proposal change the Bylaws to (1) increase dues and (2) create two new membership categories. Information on this was sent out on January 31, and is summarized and attached below. If you would like to weigh in and vote on this issue, please attend the meeting (in-person or via Zoom)

Proposed Bylaws Change

At the Guild Meeting in March, the Membership in attendance will be asked to vote to approve or reject a proposed change in the Guild ByLaws:

(1) add two additional Membership classes (Family, and First Year New Members),

(2) increase existing dues and assign dues to the two new classes.

If approved, annual dues would be:

• $35 – Regular (current = $25/year)

• $45 – Business (current = $35/year

• $25 – New Active member of NWBW (first year)

• $60 – Family of Two (new category)

The full text, previously shared with the membership via the February Newsletter (available on the website in the Member-Only section), and by Guild email (eNews) presents this in greater detail, and compares the current text with the proposed new text.

Because this is a proposed change in the Guild ByLaws, it must be approved by 2/3 of the attending Membership during the Annual Meeting (3/12/25).

Please read the referenced document and attend the March 12 Annual Meeting in-person or over Zoom if you wish to vote on this proposal.

Guild ByLaws are documented in the Guild Handbook which is available on the Guild Website: https://www.nwbasketweavers.org/membersonly/

“Article XI, Sec. 5

These Bylaws may be altered, amended, or repealed by the affirmative vote of a 2/3 majority of the members present at any annual meeting.

Article XI, Sec. 6

Amendments for consideration must be presented in writing to the entire membership for discussion 1 month prior to voting and should include statements “for” and “against” and the person or committee who authored it.”

Sincerely,

NWBW Board

MEETING DETAILS: March 12, 2025 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday, at PNC and on Zoom.

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Also, as meetings are open to the public, non-members who would like to participate via Zoom should send an email to: webadmin@nwbasketweavers.org

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY PARTICIPATED IN A ZOOM MEETING:
you know the drill.

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.

February 12, 2025 (Wednesday): Gabriela Nirino "Baskets and weaving from the South" --- IN PERSON (and Zoom)

Please join us in-person at PNC and on Zoom for a presentation by Guild member Gabi Nirino who will share examples of basketry in Argentina, as well as her own work (concepts, techniques, materials) with special emphasis on the development with corn husks, ways of processing and working the material.

Gabi has M.A. Degrees in Linguistic as well as in Textile Design, both from the University of Buenos Aires. She has done additional Postgraduate studies in Science, Technologie and Society. She is also a former Professor of textile design and researcher at the School of Architecture, Design and Urbanism of the University of Buenos Aires, the National Technological University and the National University of Lanús.

Gabi has had residencies on Jacquard weaving in Arte della Setta Lisio (Firenze) and at the Textile Contemporary Center (Montréal). Gabi is currently finishing a final project for a Diploma on Environmental Humanities on the Crossroad of Art and Technology.

Learn more about Gabi and her work at: https://www.gabinirino.com/

Additional Support Material (PDFs):
Basketry in Argentina Resources
CATALOGO-CESTERIA La Rioja

Join us in-person at PNC or via Zoom from home. Gabi will be presenting in-person; meeting will be broadcast over Zoom.

MEETING DETAILS: February 12, 2025 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday, at PNC.

January 8, 2025 (Wednesday): Joe Van Wasenhove: "Glimpses into Basketry in Japan" --- (in-person and Zoom)

Please join us in-person at PNC and on Zoom for a presentation by Guild member Joe Van Wasenhove about his trip to Japan Spring 2024 to learn more about Basketry in Japan.

Joe writes: “I know little about Japanese basketry but have always admired the artistry, especially of the flower baskets (hanakago) used in tea ceremonies and paired with flower arrangements (ikebana). Sue and I went on a fiber tour to Japan in May 2024. Sadly, basketry was not one of the fiber arts featured in the tour.

So, we reached out to people with links to Japan and researched, eventually connecting with two makers. First, we met Jiro Yonezawa, who lived for many years in Portland, and is well known locally. Then, we visited Suiko Buseki in his shop. He is perhaps the last professional basket maker in Tokyo.

I’ll talk about visiting them and share pictures of their work. I will also have a couple of baskets we bought and a variety of books on basketry in Japan so please consider attending this meeting in person.”

About Joe: Since an early age, Joe has been fascinated by weaving. He took his first basketry class in the mid 80’s in the Midwest which confirmed his interest, but other priorities delayed continuing. In 2006 he returned to basketry, attending conventions, and taking classes covering a wide range of styles, materials and techniques as well as teaching occasionally. He is a current member of the Northwest Basket Weavers, Vi Phillips Basketry Guild, the Columbia Basin Basketry Guild (CBBG) and the Land of Lincoln Basketweavers Association (LLBWA) and is a board member of the National Basketry Organization (NBO). An avid traveler, Joe has made baskets across the US and in Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Denmark.

Join us in-person at PNC or via Zoom from home. Joe will be presenting from PNC.

MEETING DETAILS: January 8, 2025 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday, at PNC.

November 13, 2024 (Wednesday): "Holiday Gift Exchange"

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

For the past many years, NWBW Guild has sponsored a holiday gift exchange for members. With the advent of Covid, the gift exchange went online, and now we celebrate both online and in person by sending or bringing our gifts and opening them either from your Zoom site or at the live meeting.

The gifts are of such a wonderful variety: baskets made by members, baskets found elsewhere (never go looking at Goodwill after Jill Green or Kay Ames, they already got the best baskets), basket themed books, tools, supplies, handmade whatever (scarves, jewelry, preserves, hats, ceramics) hand cream, soaps. As Vicky Nickelson once said: just give something you would like to receive. Since we are a multi state and province organization, lots of the gifts are mailed and you can’t put the delivery off until the last minute unless you have a private jet. If you don’t know your recipient and want to know something about them, email Barbara and she will try to help you.

If you would like to participate in The NWBasket Weavers Guild Holiday Gift Exchange, please email your name and street address to Barbara Osborne by Tuesday, October 1.

Here are the guidelines and timeline:

By October 1: email your name and street address to Barbara at basketmaker47@icloud.com. Barbara will do the drawing and email you the name of the recipient of your gift by October 4.

You are responsible to get your gift in the mail soon enough so that the gift recipient can open it at our November 13 hybrid Guild meeting online via Zoom or in person at Phinney Ridge Neighborhood Center. You are also welcome to hand deliver the gift to your recipient.

Recommended mailing dates:
for Canadian mailings, in the mail by October 28;
for domestic mailing, in the mail by November 6.

MEETING DETAILS: November 13th, 2024 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday. This meeting will be in person and on Zoom (i.e. hybrid).

Oct 9, 2024 (Wednesday): Annetta Kraayeveld, "A Basketery Adventure in Poland, International Basket Heaven" (ZOOM ONLY)"

Join us on October 9 (via Zoom only) when Annetta Kraayeveld will tell us about her experience at the international basket competition The 5th World Wicker and Weaving Festival, held August 2023 in Poznan, Poland. She and three other Americans competed with basket weavers from 60 countries in the 15-hour weaving competition, as well as enjoyed the exhibits and presentations by basket makers from the corners of the earth.

The festival was recently featured in the Summer 2024, Issue 91 of basketry+ (the quarterly pmagazine of the National Basketry Organization)

From Annetta:
“It’s hard for Annetta to remember a time when she was not making something, she is a maker. In the early 1990’s, she discovered basket weaving after stumbling upon a book and begging a lesson; she quickly began making baskets, experimenting, and teaching basketry. She has been teaching at fiber arts and basketry gatherings across North America since 2000.

Over the years, Annetta’s work has won several awards and been included in several national exhibits. She currently has work in several exhibits, including Art Evolved: Intertwined (Studio Art Quilt Associates and National Basketry Organization) and the 2024 Small Expressions (Handweavers Guild of America).

Annetta served as the National Basketry Organization Board president in 2022 & 2023. She participated in the World Wicker and Weaving Festival in Poznan, Poland in 2023.

Baskets. What started as a hobby soon became her life’s work. As a teacher, she focuses on mastery, basketry techniques and stretching perceived limits. As a maker, her work is somewhere between traditional and contemporary.

Annetta was born and raised on the prairies in Alberta, Canada. After living among the trees in Wisconsin for many years, she is happy to weave and live surrounded by mountains in Helena, Montana.”

www.annettakraayeveld.com
www.prairiewoodbasketry.com

Instagram: annetta_kraayeveld
Facebook: Annetta Kraayeveld

Join via Zoom from home, there will be NO in person gathering at PNC for this meeting

MEETING DETAILS: Oct 9, 2024 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday. Annetta will appear via Zoom.

September 11, 2024 (Wednesday): Mary Auld "My Basket Journey" --- IN PERSON (and Zoom)

Please enjoy a presentation by long time Guild Member Mary Auld who will take us through her journey with baskets since the 1980s. Mary will be bringing her baskets to the meeting to enjoy up close and personal.

Mary writes…
“I grew up in Seattle, on Queen Anne Hill, the fourth oldest in a large family. Although the “big kids” had to help take care of younger siblings, I always found time for drawing, painting and making things out of clay. I learned to sew and knit at a young age from neighborhood moms.

I became interested in Native American art and briefly tried wood carving as a student at Seattle Central Community College. I later tried my hand at traditional basket making. My first basket was coiled with raffia and grasses I collected on a car trip to California in the 1980’s. I continued to explore basket making and started going to retreats held at Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula. These annual retreats were put on by the Basketry School, located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. I took classes from many talented teachers beginning in 1990.

I also discovered the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild, founded in 1982. I remember going to my first Guild meeting in the early 1990’s which was held at an old school building in the City of Shoreline. Not sure of the protocol, I sat in the back. It happened to be a Guild anniversary and Vi Phillips, founder of the Guild, was the guest speaker. I became a member and started going to monthly meetings and annual retreats. I did a term as the Guild president and was also the newsletter editor for sixteen years between 1995 to 2011.

After working many years for Snohomish County Public Works I retired several years ago and have continued my journey in the art of basketmaking including gathering and processing materials, taking classes, exploring materials, entering shows and occasional teaching.”

Join us in-person at PNC or via Zoom from home.

MEETING DETAILS: Sept 11, 2024 @ 6:30PM, Wednesday, at/from PNC.