2011 BasketMakers Calendar ~ February

2011 BasketMakers Calendar ~ February
Originally uploaded by BasketMakers

I have created a set of 2011 Basketry Calendar pages that are sized to print out on 8.5" x 11" paper. Here is the page for the month of February. You can view the rest of them on http://www.flickr.com/photos/basketmakers and see more basketry graphics on http://basketmakers.com/topics/graphics/graphicsmenu.htm

In Memoriam ~ Gladys Ellis

Heaven has gained another talented basket maker and the basket community has lost a spirited and dedicated instructor. Gladys Ellis, originator of the Mattapoisett Handbag basket passed into eternal peace on January 9, 2011, at the age of 94.



Gladys, shown here with her daughter Anne Lima, was a native of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. She combined her interest in scrimshaw and basketry into a unique regional basket style. The Mattapoisett handbag combines scrimshawed ivory panels, handles and fittings with coiled pine needles stitched with raffia. Gladys taught this style of basketry along with traditional Nantucket Lightship basketry to a legion of students over the years at conferences, adult education classes and at her studio.

Gladys was honored as a featured faculty member at Stowe Basketry Festival.

Gladys is shown here instructing a Nantucket Basket Class at the Stowe Basketry Festival.

This is an example of the Mattapoisett Handbag basket style originated by Gladys.

Peace be with you and your gentle spirit Gladys. It was my distinct honor and pleasure to have known you.

Obituary

PATRICK DOUGHERTY: A site-specific installation

PATRICK DOUGHERTY: A site-specific installation
January 30, 2011- January 30, 2012

The Palo Alto Art Center is honored to present a monumental, site-specific installation by Patrick Dougherty, one of the nation’s most prominent environmental sculptors. The public may view the artist’s creative process during his three week artist residency, January 11- 28, 2011, on the grounds of the Palo Alto Art Center. Identified as the Jackson Pollock of Saplings by art critic John Perreault, Patrick Dougherty is a process-oriented artist whose lyrical, organic works are created specifically for each site. Created with local and renewable willow saplings, his works embody natural life cycles, changing over time as the sticks settle and decay, eventually returning to the earth from which they grew.

Dougherty has created over 200 monumental site-specific installations on the grounds of major museums, universities, botanical gardens, and private residences worldwide. The resulting works evoke a wide array of natural forms, ranging from nests to objects with a transparent architecture, like woodland dwellings, or basketry. Environmental sensitivity is a major concern for the artist. Saplings are gathered from maintained sources so that the branches grow back to make new sticks for future uses.

Dougherty does not use any artificial supports in his constructions because the inherent properties of saplings cause them to snag and entangle easily. While there is a signature quality to his work, each of his compelling sculptures relates specifically to the physical site in a unique way. Dougherty believes that ideas percolate at the actual venue and that “the success of a piece lies in capturing the essence of a place and then playing with what you make of that essence.” Unlike other sculptors, he initially conceives of his work by making a series of word associations on both the physical and social qualities of a site. He is conscious of drawing in space, as he weaves sticks with lighter and darker colors and varying widths and lengths.

This project is commissioned by the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation and co-sponsored by the Palo Alto Public Art Commission. It is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Palo Alto Art Center
1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303

For additional information about basketry events visit BasketMakers.com.

The Nature of Entanglements

Gyöngy Laky, That Word, 1989, Grapevine
branches, telephone wire, 98 x 157 x 59”,
Courtesy of the Artist and Braunstein Quay
Gallery, San Francisco

THE NATURE OF ENTANGLEMENTS
January 11, 2011-March 31, 2012

The Nature of Entanglements presents photographs of Patrick Dougherty’s site specific installations in Hawaii, Washington, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and California. As Dougherty completes his three week artist residency at the Palo Alto Art Center, photographs of his creative process will be added to the exhibition.

The exhibition features delicate bird’s nests entangled with feathers and found natural materials for which Dougherty’s monumental constructions have a strong kinship. Such nests are at the core of inspiration for the anonymous individuals, who reverently created historic Native American baskets in the exhibition. Reaffirming the continuing relationship of art, nature, and human culture are striking contemporary basketry and works with entangled forms by Ruth Asawa, Timothy Berry, Dominic Di Mare, Gyöngy Laky, and Kay Sekimachi.

The exhibition has received support from Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

Palo Alto Art Center
1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303

Gallery Hours
10:00AM-5:00PM Tuesday-Saturday
1:00-5:00PM Sunday
7:00-9:00PM Thursday

Free adult docent-led tours
during the exhibition
Saturdays at 2 PM
Call the Art Center at 650-329-2366 for more information.

For additional information about basketry events visit BasketMakers.com.