2018 JoAnn Kelly Catsos Workshop

Thursday-Sunday, October 18-21, 2018

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Shaker Kittenhead Trio

1" diameter to 4" diameter

Shaped like the larger Shaker cathead baskets, these smaller versions are called kittenheads and feature the same pointed feet or cat ears. The three baskets in this set graduate in size from approximately one inch to four inches in diameter and nest inside each other. Featuring high arched handles, when tied together they create the perfect display.

Cracker Basket

12" long x 5" wide x 2 1/2" deep

This useful basket is a contemporary cousin to the Shaker Fancy Tray we made in our very first workshop with JoAnn. It has darker heartwood stakes and whiter sapwood weavers. The corner stakes are split to allow for the graceful curve of the corners. The cherry rims are single lashed.

Workshop fee for Shaker Kittenhead Trio and Cracker Basket

$540

Class fees includes all materials, handouts and use of mold, weaving stand and tools.

Level: Intermediate/Advanced
These baskets aren't terribly difficult, but the tiny 1" kittenhead will take patience.

Instructor: JoAnn Kelly Catsos

Contact: Tony Stubblefield
if you would like to receive registration information

Yet another of my studio shots

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Yet another of my studio shots. This is one of my sample for the class I recently taught a the John C. Campbell Folk School. It is a 10" traditional Appalachian-style egg basket made using commercially available oak hoops and reed. The class dealt with the fundamentals of ribbed basket construction, with a focus on achieving a desirable shape.

Cottage Garden(er) Set

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Another recent shot of a set of baskets I completed this spring. These are the Cottage Garden(er) series from Eric Taylor. They are woven of black ash with cherry rims, handle and runners.

I can never remember is Eric calls these Garden or Gardener baskets. I think I have used the terms interchangeably over the years and now I can't remember which is the correct name. Either way they are sweet baskets.

Triple Diamond Wine Totes

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Finally unboxed the studio light kit I bought over a year ago. I need to play around some more with my camera and light position, but for the first try I am pretty happy. Here are my Triple Diamond Wine Totes, regular and junior version. Both made in classes with Eric Taylor.

The full-sized version was the first basket I think I wove with Eric. Like all of Eric's designs, it is woven of black ash staves and weavers, but this one features an oak base, handle and rim. The new(ish) Junior version features Eric's usual cherry base, handle and rim.

These two baskets give a good example of how the black ash ages over time. The full-size basket is starting to get a nice warm patina to the splint. At the time it was woven it was just as light as the smaller Junior version.

How do you sign your baskets?

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How do you sign your baskets or do you even sign them? I must admit I have not always been the best at doing it myself. The signing isn't as big of a deal as dating them. I have so many early baskets that at the time I just knew I would always know when they were made. Well, flash forward 25-30 years and I don't have a clue. I can usually come up with a date if I look through old photos or files I have from basket workshops or trips, but it would just be so much easier if I had just signed and dated them in the first place.

For my reed baskets I typically use a wood burner and scribe my initials and the dates somewhere around the handle or in the case of a ribbed basket, on the "ear". For Nantucket-style baskets I usually sign them on the base using a gold paint pen which works pretty well and shows up on cherry bases nicely. For my pounded ash baskets I usually sign them with a Micro Pen, either in black or ideally brown. Some of these baskets are miniatures or use really fine splint, so I need something fairly fine to be able to sign them. Typically these I sign and date on the bottom in the center of the woven base.

Do you have a special way you like to use?

Throw Back Thursday to My Happy Place

The woodworking and basketry studio at the John C. Campbell Folk School

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The picture is from this past February when I was at the John C. Campbell Folk School taking my annual class from JoAnn Kelly Catsos.

In a little over a week I will be back there myself to teach my own class on Appalachian-style ribbed baskets. To say I am excite and nervous would be an understatement.

Pile O' Baskets

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Finished weaving another 10” Appalachian-style ribbed egg/butt/buttocks/gizzard basket. It’s looking a bit pale in comparison to the other samples. I’m trying to decide how I want to stain/dye it.

I'm trying to get a number of sample baskets woven to take to my class at the John C. Campbell Folk School at the end of the month. I want the students to see how you can take the same set of hoops and make different looking baskets with just a few changes in: rib size (this baskets uses a combination of #6 round and 1/4" oval oval); rib count; ear style; color accents; stain color; etc.