Basketmaker creating basket sculptures using antlers as the focal point or handle, in conjunction with commercial rattan reed, willow, and other natural materials. Natural materials are hand-selected and gathered from her property to produce contemporary, sometimes rustic, functional and sculptural vessels.
Professional and Artistic Community Experience
- First President of The SeatWeavers’ Guild 2007-2008
- Full time studio artist, teacher and sole-proprietor owner of THE WICKER WOMAN, a wicker furniture restoration, chair caning and antler basketry studio 1975-Present
- Created four wicker airplane seats installed in a replica Sikorsky S-38 amphibian airplane for the Johnson Wax Company, through Born Again Restorations of Owatonna, MN and for Buzz Kaplan, owner of Born Again Restorations of Owatonna, MN 1997, 1998
- Restored fifteen antique wicker furniture pieces of the main lodge and cabins for Itasca Minnesota State Park Centennial Restoration Project, 1995
- Secretary and Publicity Chairperson for Southeastern Minnesota Visual Artists (SEMVA), Rochester, MN 1989-93
- Hammond, MN Mayor 1993-1994 and City Clerk 1989-1992
TEACHING EXPERIENCES
- Oklahoma Basket Weavers Guild, Shawnee, OK 2013
- Marc Adams School of Woodworking, Franklin, IN 2011, 2013
- Northwoods Friends of the Arts, Cook, MN 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
- Community Education Adult instructor in basketweaving, Tower, MN 2006, 2007
- North House Folk School, Grand Marais, MN 1999 -Present
- John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC 2001
- Headwaters Basketry Workshop, Bemidji, MN 1998-2003, 2005-Present
- Silver Dollar City Basketry Seminar, Branson, MO 1999-2002, 2008
- Community Education Adult instructor seat weaving and basketry,
Cook, MN and Cherry, MN 2003 - Fall Basketweaving Workshop, Shawno, WI 2000, 2013
- Lake Country Basket Fest, Pewaukee, WI 2000, 2001, 2002
- Winter Weave, Mentor, OH 2000
- Weavin’ In Winona, Winona, MN 1998-2002
- Southern Minnesota Basketry Workshop, Faribault, MN 1992
- Community Education Adult instructor in seat weaving and basketry, and folk art teacher, Rochester, MN public school system 1986-92
GRANTS/SCHOLOARSHIPS/AWARDS/PROMOTIONAL FEATURES
- 3-D First Place & Monetary Award, 23rd Annual Juried Show, MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN
- Antler Basket Logo, Headwaters Basketweavers Workshop, Bemidji, MN 2008
- Emerging Artist Fellowship, Arrowhead Regional Arts Council/McKnight Foundation 2005
- Career Development Grant, Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, McKnight Foundation 2004
- Antler Basket Logo, Silver Dollar City Basket Seminar, Branson, MO 2002
- Antler Basket Logo, Lake Country Basket Fest, Pewaukee, WI 2001
- Minnesota State Folk Art Apprenticeship Grant–Seat Weaving Mentor 2000
- Minnesota Crafts Festival, Antler Basket Photos on Advertising Materials, St. Paul, MN 1991
- Honorable Mention, 14th Annual Textiles & Fibers, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater 1990
- Scholarship, Split Rock Arts Program, University of Minnesota, Duluth, John McGuire Shaker basketry 1990
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
- Minnesota Artists Organization Online Gallery- www.mnartists.org–2002-Present
- Bare Bones Studio, Ely, MN 2002-Present
- Waters of Superior, Duluth, MN 2003-Present
- MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN 2003-Present
SELECTED SOLO, JURIED, AND INVITATIONAL EXHIBTIONS (partial listing)
- All From One Tree, Invitational and Traveling Exhibition, North House Folk School, Grand Marais, MN 2007
- Out of the Swamp, Invitational, North House Folk School, Grand Marais, MN 2007
- From Swamp and Bog, Invitational, MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN 2006
- Antlers and Landscapes, Two-person invitational, MacRostie Art Center, Grand Rapids, MN 2004
- Baskets 2002: New Perspectives on an Ancient Tradition, Juried, Guilford Handcraft Center, Guilford, CT 2002
- Exploring the Future, Revisiting the Past, Celebration of American Basketry, Juried International, Amana, Iowa 2001
- Southeastern Minnesota Regional Art Exhibition, Juried, Rochester, MN 2001
- Contemporary Basketry, Invitational, Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts, Houston, TX 2001
- Association of Michigan Basketmakers Convention, Invitational Members Exhibit, Grand Rapids, MI 2001
- 57th Juried Exhibition, Upper Midwest, Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Iowa 2000
- A Basket Is, National Invitational Exhibition, Plymouth Art Foundation, Plymouth, WI 1997
- Basketmaking: Past and Present, Juried Group Traveling Exhibit, Iowa Basket Weavers Guild 1992
- Quilts and Baskets,Juried, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 1992
- Exploration: MN Deer Antler Basketry, Solo, Lutheran Brotherhood, Minneapolis, 1992
- Small Expressions ’91,Juried International Exhibition, Handweavers Guild of America, Eugene, OR 1991
ARTIST OR WORK FEATURED IN SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (partial listing)
- Wicker Woman of Angora, Northern Tracks & Trails Cover Story, Herald-Review, Grand Rapids, MN 2003
- Kovel’s Yellow Pages, Antique Restoration Guide, by Ralph and Terry Kovel, 2003
- Kovel’s Yellow Pages, Antique Restoration Guide, by Ralph and Terry Kovel, 2000
- Small Town Minnesota from A to Z, by Tony Anderson, 2000
- Splint Woven Basketry, by Robin Taylor Daugherty 1999
- Kovel’s Guide to Buying, Selling, and Fixing Your Antiques and Collectibles, by Ralph and Terry Kovel 1995
- Hammond Mayor Weaves a Lot of Things Into Her Life, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, MN, 1994
Selected Publications-Authored and Submitted Writings (partial listing)
- WickerWoman.com, webmaster and design artist of domain website 1999-Present
- Wicker Woman’s Weavings, online monthly wicker furniture, seatweaving and basketry ezine, 1999-Present
- Homemade Money-Starting Smart!, (author solicited contributions), by Barbara Brabec, 2003
- Homemade Money-Bringing in the Bucks!, (author solicited contributions, by Barbara Brabec, 2003
- 6 Steps for Free Publicity, (author solicited contributions), by Marcia Yudkin, 2003
- 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, (author solicited contributions), by Priscilla Y. Huff, 2002
- Handmade for Profit!, (author solicited contributions), by Barbara Brabec, 2002
- The ABCs of Wicker Furniture, Finishing & Restoration Magazine, October 2002
- Insight on Basketry, by Cathryn Peters, The Crafts Report, August, 2001
- Pricing Guidelines for Arts & Crafts, (entire chapter, author solicited contribution), by Sylvia Landman, 2000
- Art Group Paints a Rosy Picture,by Cathryn Peters, The Crafts Report, 1996
- Antique Wicker Furniture Columnist, Cathryn Peters, The Old Times, 1993-94
- Document Your Artwork, by Cathryn Peters, The Crafts Report, June 1992
- Wicker Furniture & Basketry, by Cathryn Peters, Basketry Round Up #2, LaPlantz Press 1992
- Opening Night Jitters,by Cathryn Peters, Basketmaker, MKS Publishers Issue #27, 1991
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