NBO Conference
Master Weaver Flo Hoppe and me with some of my finished baskets
In July 2019, I attended the 9th biennial National Basketry Organization conference held in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The conference was titled, “Tradition and Innovation,” and brought together basket makers from across the United States and as far away as Australia. The conference hosts keynote speakers, three separate exhibits of professional and amateur woven work, and an opportunity to engage in five days of weaving and weaving instruction.
I had that great fortune of working with world renown weaver Flo Hoppe. Her course for this week was Traditional Japanese Basketry - a topic she is well versed in having spent time in Japan learning from master basket weavers. Flo has written three important books on basketry, two of which focus on working with round reed. (Wicker Basketry, Contemporary Wicker Basketry). Since this workshop, I have found her books to be incredible sources of basket method and inspiration, and a wonderful springboard for my own design work.
A few characteristics set the Japanese baskets taught during this conference apart from other Western baskets that I am familiar with. First and foremost is the use of elements found in the body of the basket to form the handle or rim. In fact, for the baskets shown here, the ‘rim’ is typically called a ‘border’ as it really is the final edge of the basket, and not an additional material added to it to complete the work. Utilizing the spokes (verticals) or weavers (horizontals) to complete the basket expresses a wonderful efficiency of material and design. There is also a wonderful fluidity found in these designs that expresses the materials. Some basket types seem to push or force their materials to bend to a certain form or function. These designs seem to understand and express the fluidity inherent to the materials.