2004 North Carolina Basketmakers Association Convention Notes

Convention just keeps getting better and better each year. This time it was exciting for several reasons. Pamela and I taught a class this time. I've gained new respect for teachers after experiencing first hand the amount of work that goes into preparing for a class. Ours involved preparing gourds for chip-carving and coiling. It went pretty well for our first time teaching, and I think most people enjoyed it and learned something. We learned quite a bit from the experience and that will help us fine-tune the next one.

Well, I know that the carving was a great hit! Lynn is a fabulous teacher, and all the student gourds looked wonderful. We will resubmit this class for next year, we had so many people saying they did not get the class, and wanting to know if it would be offered again...but we will change the rim to something more uniform. It was too difficult to give sufficient instructions for the "whatever you want" style which we had planned. For more photos of our class, click on the completed student project at right.

Another benefit of teaching there is being able to participate in Teacher's Marketplace. It's quite an experience when 700+ people come thundering through the doors of the ballroom and mob the tables! For 1 1/2 hours we had a chance to sell what we brought. My table was filled with all sorts of naturals that I had gathered and processed. Preparing everything took a long time, and I'm not sure I'll do all that again. Of course I will have no problem using up leftovers in my own projects.

It was a great deal of fun to be part of the marketplace, but I really missed going around to the other tables, and getting to shop. I usually get some really great unique materials or embellishments there each year, and sometimes a few wearables. It was gratifying to sell to a crowd who knew what they were looking at. My best sales were in horsehair baskets, and there was some interest in my teaching those techniques.

The three classes I took were quite different from each other, and none of them involved coiling!

The absolute most fun was the "Garden Goddess" sculpture, a vine rattan random weave over wire, taught by Mary Hettmansperger. I'd done random weaves but never using a frame. We bent clothes hangers, but who would ever have thought we could transform those simple things into cavorting nude ladies! Between the discussion of body parts and Mary's hilarious woven goddess/god stories, we all laughed our way through class. Since Pamela was only in one class with me, I'm glad that this was the one. Here was a chance, for me anyway, to create a caricature of the body that I wished I had. Mary was so easy-going, teaching us the skills while encouraging individual freedom during the process. The sculptures were amazing- each one different and worthy to stand proud in the garden as tribute to the goddess within us!

Click on the photo at left for another look at the class, and to read about Lynn's other classes!

Other Pine Needle Group members were at convention, teaching and taking classes. That's Dory Maier, at right, helping a student in Dianne and Dory's advanced pine needle coiling on gourd class. The classes filled up pretty quickly, especially given there were 8 (EIGHT!) coiling classes offered this year. Click on the photo at left for more pictures of coiling classes by Judy M. Mallow (yes, she wrote the book!)

A big highlight of convention for me is the exhibit room. I love looking at the pieces people submit, especially the coiled and twined work. There continues to be a trend towards more coiling, submitted in several categories. Several of us from the PNG had work entered to show. Some awards were even won! Awards are won through popular vote by the membership. I'm torn between this method and a judged competition, as each has pros and cons. I like the idea of a judged competition with judges comments, as this could help the basketmaker grow and improve. It's puzzling to me that there are members who aren't interested in seeing what's in the exhibit room at all, much less casting a vote. Another issue is that there is only a 2 hour period before the awards ceremony where work can be viewed with the maker's name. That seems to be another case for judging. All this aside, there is enough inspiration in this room to run off of for a month! To see the exhibit room baskets up close, click on the photo at upper right. For more photos of the award-winning pieces, with their makers, see the NCBA website

There are so many neat things that make convention great, like meeting friends from the group, and other basketmakers from past conventions. After three conventions, some faces are becoming familiar, and that's a good feeling. People are friendly here. It's also fun to visit the vendors in between classes.

I agree, friends are one of the best parts of convention! This year, we met Judy Pate, and renewed acquaintances with Judy Mallow, Dianne Masi, Dory Maier, Nancy DeVries, Kathy Halter, Judy Wilson, Ronna and David Wuttke, and O'Brian Trawick, all of The Pine Needle Group.

Vendors are a very important part of attending convention - especially since we have no local basketry supply places. Everything is ordered by mail, except when we get to a show. I cannot wait each year to get great stuff from our favorite supply places...especially Royalwood, Turtlefeathers, Judy K. Wilson and O'Brian Fretwork. Make sure you look at the special coiling display that Kathy Halter of Royalwood set up just for us! It was wonderful! Thanks so much for remembering the Pine Needle Group, Kathy! (Kathy is also one of our members.)

To add to the excitement, the raffle tables are set up with hundreds of items that members and businesses have donated. This is such a great fund raiser for the organization, and though I've never won anything, it's fun to look at all the baskets, supplies and other stuff that lucky people will go home with. The raffle itself was lots of fun this year, with one of the men volunteers strutting around modeling a feathery shawl prize, and one of the ladies in the audience running up and stuffing a dollar into his shirt! We were kept in stitches by the man calling the numbers, and by the loud reactions of some of the winners.

I can honestly say that I have been going non-stop since convention, which was back in March. Good things came of this convention: while there, I decided to start a unique new guild, The Natural Fibers Group. Nothing like flowing adrenaline to jump start a new project! Of course Pamela has been invaluable in helping me fulfill this idea. Thanks PZ! The group has formed, and is now recognized as an affiliate guild of NCBA! Is this what's meant by full circle?