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Gualala Arts
Promoting public interest and participation in the arts since 1961.
Archive of past events: 2004 through 2014
Bay Area Basket Makers
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 5:00 p.m.
Any material can be woven into a vessel and be experimented with. Many BABM members enjoy specializing in specific techniques using specific materials while some members use traditional techniques such as plaiting and coiling with traditional, natural materials. A number of members use traditional techniques with recycled materials including telephone wire, aluminum can pull tabs, mylar video tape, old road maps, plastic bags, fabric, cable ties. Unusual natural materials include handmade paper, kelp and horsehair. Non-traditional techniques are also showcased.
Currently BABM has over 70 members, more than half of whom are active in guild activities. Most are from the greater Bay Area, but some now live as far away as Colorado and Utah. The members' skills range from beginner to professional, and the group welcomes new members at all levels of expertise. Many baskets are made for fun and as a hobby. Others are made by working artists who exhibit their creations locally, nationally and internationally. Numerous members have won awards for their work. One member even has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the smallest lidded pine needle basket - a creation smaller than a dime! In addition, several members are well-known and well-loved instructors.
Although BABM does not participate in many group shows, they have enjoyed success at the Danville Art Center, the Castro Valley library, and the Davisville Travel Agency Window Gallery in Davis. BABM is a member of the Conference of Northern California Handweavers (CNCH), having the distinction of being the only basketry guild in the organization. BABM participate and exhibit as a group at the yearly CNCH conferences. The guild has shown their work many times at the Gualala Art Center. For more information about Bay Area Basket Makers please visit their website at babmbaskets.tripod.com. Further details and registration forms may be obtained by visiting the Gualala Arts Center or online at www.GualalaArts.org.
The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA, |
Handmade baskets made by the Bay Area Basket Makers (BABM) guild will be on display Saturday, June 12 through Sunday, July 4, 2010 in the Burnett Gallery and Jacob Foyer. These baskets were constructed from a variety of materials, using many different techniques.
BABM is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1984 by two basket makers who saw the need for supporting and developing a growing interest in basketry as both a craft and art form. The guild serves as a source of information and inspiration, as well as a means of communication among basket makers.
In addition to wonderful potluck lunches at their monthly meetings, the BABM highlight a specific technique and/or material, and spend several hours learning it together. Often one of the members will provide the demonstration and instruction, but they also invite experts in the field to instruct in a technique that interests most of the group.