Bending handles and rims for my John C. Campbell Folk School Class

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My class with JoAnn Kelly Catsos at the John C. Campbell Folk School starts soon. I have put off bending my handles and rims until nearly the last minute. This part always makes me nervous, bu I only had one break on a backup handle, so am very happy. I will let them dry for a few days before I take them off the forms.

Baskets on a Saturday morning

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Just a few of the many baskets covering every inch of my house. These are some that grace the top a a lovely cherry hunt board I picked up in New Hampshire at one of the prison shops. The one on the far left is a black ash JoAnn Kelly Catsos, the next is a white oak Cynthia Taylor and the last grouping is mine. Mine include a 4" snowflake bowl woven of natural and dyed black ash, a nesting set of Shaker cathead baskets and in the back (you can barely see it in the shadow box frame) is the black ash reproduction quadrafoil fan I made last year at the John C. Campbell Folk School.

Trying new things

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A delicious dinner last night of oven-roasted cauliflower with Tunisian-spiced yogurt over cumin-scented rice. I love how Hello Fresh is pushing me to try new things. I would have never even considered ordering this in a restaurant, let alone fix it at home. Cauliflower, raisins, yogurt and cumin over rice? No way! But, the flavors were incredible. I'm also trying to have one meatless dinner a week and this was perfect for that.

Throwback Thursday

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Throwback Thursday to nine years ago at the John C. Campbell Folk School. It's about time to head there again and I can't wait for my class with JoAnn Kelly Catsos. This year the plan is to make three mini Shaker apple baskets. People are going to be confused when they see the size of these baskets, because most people think that something has to be itsy bitsy to be called mini, but because a regular size historical Shaker apple basket is about 16" in diameter, my 6", 5" and 4" will be pretty small in comparison.

Getting Ready for Class

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Handle jigs made for my mini Shaker apple baskets I plan on making with JoAnn Kelly Catsos next month at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Now to steam bend both the handles and rims. Since I am not using green wood this is always stressful.

Flashback to 2011

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A flash back to 2011 when I had my mini gallery show of my baskets. The Chamber of Commerce in my hometown of Mexico, Missouri is located in a beautiful old bank. The have kept many of the original marble counters and fixtures and even turned the old vault into a mini gallery art space. I was honored to be asked to show my baskets there. While a bank vault may sound like an odd backdrop, it really was a great space to display artwork.

Dang, I was thin back then. 😳

Getting Ready for John C. Campbell 2017

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Finishing up my nesting set of mini/small Shaker apple basket molds for my workshop at the John C. Campbell Folk School with JoAnn Kelly Catsos. Now to let JoAnn know what splint sizes I need and to figure out handles, rims and runners.

I am also going to review the shaping on these. I don't know if it is just the angle of the photo, but that middle mold looks lopsided. The sides are hand shaped, so that is very possible.

Cat in the Hat ... I Mean Basket

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After I don't know how many years, Grayson has decided my Martha Wetherbee leather-lined Shaker wood chip basket is the best place to sleep. Unlike most cats, he has always preferred hard, cool surfaces to lay on instead of the usually fluffy, fuzzy spots normally favored by felines.

My first project for 2017

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I'm making three small/mini Shaker apple basket molds. If these turn out this will be my project at John C. Campbell Folk School next month with JoAnn Kelly Catsos.