North House Folk School

Overview

Join us for a gathering of basket-makers, both advanced and aspiring! Basketry embodies the soul of traditional craft: simple tools, natural materials, and skilled hands result in purposeful, beautiful items. Birch bark, spruce root, willow, black ash—the northern forest has been generous to basketmakers. Through coursework, free evening gatherings, and Basket Gathering Day, we’ll explore a variety of basketry techniques and forms that have arisen in many cultural contexts.

Basket Gathering Day : Friday, October 9, 9am-9pm

As a special feature of this week, all classes will take a break on Friday to allow everyone to participate in demonstrations and presentations. Participation in the Gathering Day is free and does not require registration. The public is welcome to attend. Presentations in the Blue Building; Basket Fair activity locations vary and will be posted.

9am

Presentation: Split Willow Basketry Traditions with Ty Sheaffer

This presentation will explore the amazing and unique split willow traditions from around the world, such as the finely woven bread baskets of Germany, watertight baskets of the Paiute, upside-down woven pack baskets of Sweden, and more! There will be a demonstration of some of the techniques and approaches used for splitting and preparing the willow, and we'll look at some examples of modern and historical split willow baskets.

10:30am

Group Game: Baskets with Lee Zieke and Lindsay Lee

Team up for a little fun during this session as Lindsay and Lee quiz us through the world of basketry: the tricks, techniques, and tidbits.

Noon-2pm

Basket Fair: Drop-In Activities and Demonstrations

• Single Twig Projects: Knots, carabiners, and fasteners with Jake Fee
• Boreal Pearls: Birch bark beads woven from scraps with Josie Cooke
• Dyepots: Dye your weavers in a variety of dye pots with Liz O’Brien
• Material Prep: Cedar, black ash and birch with Michelle Marion

2:30pm Featured Presentation:

Weaving with Willow—From Farm to Basket with Katherine Lewis

Willows are most often used for strong functional baskets, but creative and decorative pieces can also be woven from willow and willow bark. Basket weaver Katherine Lewis will tell you the story of how willow took over her life, from growing the material to weaving baskets from both willow and bark.

4pm Featured Presentation:

Making Baskets with Mary Thompson

Featured instructor Mary Thompson is a second-generation Cherokee basket maker, working with white oak and rivercane basketry. She will share stories of her process of gathering natural materials that grow in the Appalachian Mountains to making her heirloom baskets.

7pm

Open Weave, hosted by Beth Homa-Kraus

EVENING GATHERINGS:

All Basket Week students and the public are invited to attend these free gatherings. Blue Building

Tuesday, October 6 | Movie Night, Basket Culture: A Series of Shorts, 7-9pm

Come watch several short films exploring basket makers' connection to place, land, and culture. We’ll supply the popcorn!

Wednesday, Oct 7 | Community Craft Night: Basket Repair, 7pm

Well-loved baskets occasionally need a little upkeep. This evening will focus on basket repair. Instructors April Stone and Beth Kraus will consult with anyone on how you might undertake a repair to a favorite basket. Bring your baskets in need of care, or any other project you’d like to work on. Some materials may be available for sale. Don’t have a project? No worries, we’ve got board games you can play, so just come hang out. Musical instruments, snacks to share are all welcome.

Thursday, Oct 8 | The Art of Deconstruction with April Stone, Part 2, 7pm

This gathering had people on the edge of their seats in 2024…. Back by popular demand! Witness a black ash basket being dismantled. April Stone unweaves one of her baskets while she discusses each part’s relation.

April writes, “As a basket maker for over two decades, I have had the honor of harvesting, processing, weaving, using and sharing all things related to black ash. As I see it, when one makes a basket for the first time, they have the potential to step into the realm of opening up... either out of curiosity or necessity or anywhere in between... oftentimes resulting in lessons for life and stories that move the soul. To make a basket is one thing. To take apart a perfectly well-made basket is another. Creating 3-D vessels comes from somewhere and in my case, it comes from 2-D material. Every once in a while I like to deconstruct a basket. Through the process of deconstruction, we get a chance to see and experience something different... perhaps a new understanding or a new connection... and black ash material is perfect for doing just that. What are the actual working parts of this basket? Come find out.”

Friday, Oct 9 | Open Weave, hosted by Beth Homa-Kraus, 7pm

Bring a project and come weave with others!

Saturday, Oct 10 | Community Craft Night: Basket Repair, 7pm

Well-loved baskets occasionally need a little upkeep. Instructors Emily Derke, Nate Johnson, and Michelle Marion will consult with anyone on how you might undertake a repair to a favorite basket. Bring your baskets in need of care, or any other project you’d like to work on. Some materials may be available for sale. Don’t have a project? No worries, we’ve got board games you can play, so just come hang out. Musical instruments, snacks to share are all welcome.

Sunday, Oct 11 | Show & Share + a tribute to Julie Kean, 7pm

We will start the evening with a tribute to a local weaving icon, Julie Kean. A collection of her baskets will be displayed, and a few of her colleagues will share some stories. Afterwards, Basket Week participants and instructors will come together and share work they have done, past and present. Bring something from home or from a Basket Week class to share. Or just come to watch - all are welcome.

Featured Guests:

Mary Thompson is an esteemed basket maker and enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. We have invited Mary to share her knowledge of white oak basketry, a form of splint basketry practiced in the eastern US and deeply connected to the Cherokee people. The highly labor intensive process to fell the trees and produce splint to weave with is not dissimilar from the black ash weaving traditions practiced by the Anishinaabe people indigenous to the Lake Superior region, presenting an opportunity for cross-cultural sharing and learning. 

Katherine Lewis is a willow weaver and grower from Washington state, who weaves in the European stake and strand tradition. She is highly respected in the field, with works featured in the Renwick Gallery as part of the Cole Ware Collection of American baskets. While at NHFS, she will teach techniques for using willow bark, less commonly practiced in the Upper Midwest.