Eric Taylor Workshop Results

I finally had a chance to photograph the baskets that I made during Eric Taylor's workshop here at my home in St. Louis this May. Of course I forgot to take a picture of the mini Cottage Smalls Carrier because I had already hung it on my basket Christmas tree. I will have to remember to photographic during my next photo session. Hopefully I will be able to get Eric back again as all the baskets we made were just beautiful.

Cottage Carrier

10"(l) x 8"(w) x 9"(h)

10th Anniversary Cottage Mail

11.5"(l) x 5.5"(w) x 6.5"(h)

Cottage Tool Tote

17"(l) x 6.5"(w) x 9.5"(h)

Cottage Towering Tote

 10.5"(l) x 7.5"(w) x 14"(h)

 

This last basket was an extra evening project I worked on. I had really wanted to make this basket so Eric brought a kit for me and let me borrow a mold. I bought one other kit and mold and need to work on that one sometime in the near future when I have some free time (yeah right!).

Stephen Zeh Baskets

Stephen Zeh, 8" to 3" dia.

Stephen Zeh is a Maine brown (aka black) ash basket maker. Zeh began making baskets in 1980 and under the tutelage of Penobscot Indian basketmaker, Eddie Newell, he fine tuned his skills. I have been fortunate to have met Stephen at the Anarbor Street Art Fair several years ago. A while back I found one of Stephen's baskets on Ebay and recently I acquired this beautiful nesting set. Each basket has a kicked up bottom and lovely hand-carved swing handle.

 

A nesting set like this would have originally had five baskets ranging in size from 10" to 3". At some point the largest basket was separated and sold. Even incomplete the set is still quite a find and a nice addition to my collection of fine contemporary baskets.

Eric Taylor Workshop

I can't believe how time has flown and it has already been a couple weeks since Eric Taylor was here in St. Louis leading four wonderful classes. Eighteen people participated in the workshop and 48 baskets were woven over 4 fun-filled days. Eric brought lots of kits and molds and made a lot of weavers very happy. I picked up one kit and mold that I am going to be starting here soon. Eric definitely went home with a lighter load.

One of the baskets we made was a small 3" x 2.5" basket. It looked really difficult, but was surprisingly easy to weave. I always think minis are going to be hard to make, but they are so easy and quick to make. Everyone did really well and went home with a cute little addition to their collection.

Eric starts his baskets in a way I hadn't tried before.

Eric gives lots of hands-on help with the baskets.

Just a few of Eric's many interesting handle and basket designs.

The five baskets I made during the workshop.

Save the Date - 2011 JoAnn Kelly Catsos Workshop

Mark your calendars as I am very excited to announce that I have 2011 dates set for JoAnn Kelly Catsos' return to St. Louis. The workshop will be Saturday, October 8 to Monday, October 10, 2011. This year it will be all about choices. On Friday you will have your choice of either 4" Black Diamond or Diamond Reflections, and then on Saturday and Sunday you will have your choice of either the 6" quadrafoil captured lid cathead or 4" Cherub.

4" Black Diamond & Diamond Reflections

6" Quadrafoil Lidded Cathead & 4" Cherub

I should be sending out registration information in the next month or so. I hope you can join us to make these beautiful baskets. If you are interested in attending this workshop please send me your email and mailing address.

Let Them Eat (Nantucket Basket) Cake

Now I ask you, who wouldn't want a Nantucket basket cake? The entire baskets are edible, handles, scrimshaw, even the shells and some of the flowers.

Cakes by Calligraphics

Jodi's Cakes.

Nantucket basket cake by amateur baker Kim313

Bump Bottom Basket

8.5" dia. x 10.5" high

I made this basket quite a few years ago in Oriental, NC in a workshop lead by Eric Taylor. This was a different style basket for Eric, his baskets almost exclusively feature solid wood bottoms, but this basket features a radial spoke-woven bottom. The style of the base of the basket is called a "bump bottom" since it is raised or pushed up. The basket is woven of hand pounded black (brown) ash, nailed walnut rims and a notched walnut handle. This basket was challenge to weave. All 16 staves were each tapered from 5/8" to 1/8". The weavers graduated in size from 1/32" to 3/32".

First Nantucket Class

20" x 16.5" Big Boy Oval

This was the first Nantucket-style basket I made in a class. I had made a number of Nantucket baskets before this, but had been working only from some instructions I had gotten from an Early American Life magazine. Needless to say the class was a real eye-opener.

I made this basket in 1998 during one of my summer trips to New Hampshire. The class was taught by Lisa Thayer of Long Island, NY. I think the class was about three or maybe four days of steady work. I remember it took us all of one day just to get the staves shaped and inserted and just an inch or so woven. It took the remaining time to weave the body of the basket. The mold was so large that it was a lot of work just to reach around the 17 or 18 inch long staves to weave one stitch. The last day we installed the rims and about mid-day it started raining which provided just enough humidity to the air that the now glued rims were almost impossible to get on the basket. I can remember the relief when that outside rim finally slipped over the edge of the staves and I was able to squeeze it into place.

I learned so much in the class that I called the woman who hosted my classes and scheduled to teach a Nantucket class. I came home with a set of 12 5" Nantucket molds and began teaching classes. I still have those molds, but unfortunately they have been sitting unused for classes for about 10 years. I guess I need to get back to teaching with those!