Dorothy McGuinness and Katherine Lewis are like the yin and yang of basket makers.
McGuinness’ baskets aren’t made for function but are stunning and supple spiraling splashes of color, the raw material of which is watercolor paper that can be bought at a store and then plied through a pasta maker (she’s never used it to make pasta) to produce piles of jaggedy-edge pieces that McGuinness assembles like complex puzzles.
On the other hand, Lewis grows her own willow, which she cuts, dries and painstakingly weaves together into traditional French-style market baskets that are lightweight and fully functional as square-shaped containers for carrying bread (panier a jour) or heart-shaped display baskets used for cheese (coeur d’ fromage).
McGuinness and Lewis illustrate the diversity of the age-old craft of basket weaving. Their works of art and function are just a few examples of pieces in an exhibit presented by Arts Council of Snohomish County called “Containers, Containment and Contents,” which opens tonight and runs through Feb. 12 at the Arts Council gallery in downtown Everett.
The exhibit features three dozen members of the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild, which has been promoting the art and tradition of basketry since 1982. Also featured are more than two dozen members of the Northwest Designer Craftsmen, founded in 1954 to promote excellence of design and craftsmanship of basketry.
Though basket weaving is a centuries-old craft, basketry seems to be savoring a revival, what with the whole “going green” movement.
“A lot of these Northwest basket weavers are using material from nature,” Arts Council gallery director Carie Collver said. “And they are using a lot of recycled materials and creating lots of fun, fun stuff for these shows.”
At the exhibit, visitors should expect to see the traditional and the not-so traditional. There’s a basket that looks like it is made from mesh with brightly colored balls inside and another basket standing on a pair of feet.
One of McGuinness’ distinct creations stands about 4 feet tall and is called “Fade to Black” as the subtle spiraling of the weave starts light and then spins round and round, ending in black at the basket opening.
McGuinness uses a heavy grade watercolor paper pushed through a pasta maker, an idea she said wasn’t original but is certainly unique. The pasta maker had been collecting dust in a cupboard, never used and destined for the second-hand store before McGuinness learned to speedily create these basket strips.
“This is the biggest piece I’ve made and I was just thinking about the color gradation and I figured the size would fit well with that,” McGuinness said while setting up her display at the gallery, the basket standing beside her looking sleekly skinny and impeccably beautiful.
Practice has led to perfection for McGuinness who, after 22 years, has learned what works for her.
“A basket could be containing space. It doesn’t have to be containing a physical object,” she said. “Then I was introduced to watercolor paper and realized I didn’t have to use bamboo to produce these soft Japanese style baskets. I don’t have to go out in the woods and collect the material.”
Basket maker Lewis readily says that she is on the opposite end of the spectrum from McGuinness. Lewis and husband Steve Lospalluto run Dunbar Gardens in Mount Vernon and grow selected varieties of basketry willow to weave functional and durable baskets.
For 16 years, Lewis has harvested this bushlike willow for baskets but her studies began in France, where she traveled to one of the few basketry cooperatives in the world for a weeklong course. Each French-inspired basket is usually constructed from start to finish before the willow, which has been soaked for suppleness, dries.
“It really is a more time-consuming process,” Lewis said. “But I love the form of it. It’s a sturdy, functional basket and yet very light and open.”
Lewis first got hooked on willow when she took a class from a woman from England. Then she realized she could grow the willow here and Dunbar Gardens took off.
In addition to keeping Dunbar Gardens a going operation, Lewis does commission work, creating custom baskets for people all over the country.
“Baskets that go on shelves, in cubby holes, kitchen drawers. Somebody has their house remodeled and suddenly they have a spot where nothing fits, so I’m able to make baskets to order to fit in those places,” Lewis said.
Lewis doesn’t mind a bit playing yang to McGuinness’ yin.
“For me, it’s the ability to take these sticks, these wood pieces and turn it into a functional container, and functionality to me is critical.”
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