Ash & Sweetgrass Fancy Basket Workshop
/
with Molly Neptune Parker, Passamaquoddy
Molly Neptune Parker weaving. |
On
Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14, 2012, come to the Abbe
Museum to learn how to make an ash
and sweetgrass fancy basket with nationally acclaimed basketmaker
artist, Molly
Neptune Parker, Passamaquoddy. In this two day workshop, Molly will
take
students through the process of weaving an ash and sweetgrass basket. First, participants will choose a basket mold
from Molly’s collection. She will then
instruct how to weave the dyed or natural brown ash around the mold. To finish off their creations, participants
will learn how to make the decorative, colorful curls and weave
sweetgrass. Participants will leave with a
beautiful
basket of their own creation, and memories to last a lifetime! This
workshop
spans two days, 10:00-4:00 each day.
Both days are necessary to complete a finished fancy basket, but
it is
possible to make a basic basket if only participating in one day of the
workshop.
Recently it was announced that Molly has been
awarded the
prestigious National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, (the nation’s
highest honor in folk and traditional arts). Molly has
been making baskets
for over half a century; during the 1950s when traditional basketmaking
experienced a decline in Maine,
Molly
was one of a handful of Wabanaki artists who carried on the
centuries-old
art form. Molly has been a leader in
preserving and passing along her knowledge of basketmaking.
“Basketmaking, for
me, is about innovation and creativity within the context of
traditional art
form,” she says.
Molly is the past president of the Maine Indian
Basketmakers
Alliance, and has mentored a number of young basketmakers, including
nationally-acclaimed
basketmaker Jeremy Frey, Passamaquoddy ( Frey received the 2011 Best of
Show award
at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market and at the Santa Fe
Indian
Market) as well as her grandson, George Neptune, Passamaquoddy. All three currently have work on display at
the Abbe
Museum in the
exhibit entitled, Transcending Traditions: The Next Generation of
Maine
Indian Basketry.
Molly’s workshop will take place at the Abbe Museum,
26 Mount Desert Street. It fills quickly and pre- registration is
required. Abbe Members: $75/one day,
$120/both days. Non-members: $115/one day, $160/both days (includes
individual membership to the Abbe Museum).
The cost of
materials is included in the price. *Please
note that it may not be possible to create a lid and decorative
elements if
only participating in one day of the workshop.
For more information or to register for this
workshop,
please call or email Raney Bench, Curator of Education, at 207.288.3519.