Basket Remains A Personal Craft

Thu., March 23, 1995

Suzanne Pate Correspondent

FOR THE RECORD: Friday, March 24, 1995 CORRECTION: The basket weaving slide show/lecture sponsored by the Spokane Handweavers Guild will be held tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room behind the Duncan Gardens conservatory in Manito Park. The date was wrong in a story Thursday in IN Life. Reservations are required for the free event; call 468-2527 or 536-9349.

A tisket, a tasket - learn to make a basket! This weekend is your chance to try a hands-on craft that is functional and expressive.

The Spokane Handweavers Guild is bringing in nationally known basket maker Maxine Kirmeyer for a slide show/lecture and two-day workshop that focuses on the twining technique.

Based in Redding, Calif., Kirmeyer has 20 years of experience in the craft, is the author of a source book about basketry materials, and sells basket supplies through her own mail-order business.

“We’re surrounded by so many things that are mass produced,” said Kirmeyer. “A basket is one of the few things they haven’t figured out how to make by machine. A person has to do it. It’s a personal sort of craft. My hands are my tools.”

A slide show of Kirmeyer’s basket collection and an exhibition of her work begin the weekend schedule tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room behind the Duncan Gardens conservatory in Manito Park. This event is free to the public, but reservations are required because of space limits.

The workshop classes meet in the same room and will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Students of all skill levels will make a contemporary basket and a soft pouch. The fee for the classes is $75 for non-members of the guild, $65 for members - and this includes the cost of materials.

For more information and to save your spot at the slide show tonight, call 468-2527 or 536-9349.

ILLUSTRATION: Drawing

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