Gualala Arts Workshop
Pine Needle Basket Making
Instructor: Gerda Randolph

Saturday - Sunday
May 16 - 17, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Register by:	May 1, 2009
Tuition:	$50 members; $65 non-members
Materials fee:	$25
Materials:	sharp scissors / needle nose pliers

Join this class and learn to make beautiful baskets from pine needles. Using the process of coiling, you will be taught to weave swirling, interlocking stitches. You will learn how to begin a basket both around a centerpiece and with a thread wrapped center, and how to add beads and other decorations.

This class is appropriate for beginners and other basket makers who would like to learn a new technique. (Motivated children 11 and older are welcome upon approval of the instructor.)

Gerda tells us more about her basketmaking

"The opportunity to be creative and continually learn as I experiment with new ideas and possibilities is what makes my art fun for me. It is always a new adventure. Natural material is my chosen medium, from minerals and rocks formed deep in the earth to soft wool fleeces and yarns to pine needles, wild iris, and other plant fibers, all of these in a wonderful array of colors.

"When I make a coiled basket, the knowledge that I am sharing in an ancient process brings me pleasure. It is not, however, my desire to imitate the beauty of those who have gone before me, but rather to make baskets that lets me explore my own creativity. When I make a basket, it seems to take on a life of its own. I may begin a basket with an idea, but then as I work, I often hear an inner voice that leads me in directions that are new and different. I am learning to listen to that voice and to flow with it.

"There is something special about the feeling of gently cradling a basket in your hands. They are meant to be held, admired, and used as containers for your things and also your dreams."

For more information, visit her website, Fiber Design by Gerda.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.