At the Fuller, all weaves considered

Globe South Behind the Scenes

July 28, 2011|By Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent

Baskets by Native American artist Terrol Dew Johnson (left) and Dorothy… (National Basketry Organization )

All Things Considered VI: National Basketry Organization Biennial Juried Exhibition

Fuller Craft Museum, 455 Oak St., Brockton

July 30-Dec. 12

$8, $5 seniors and students

508-588-6000; www.fullercraft.org

A new exhibit on contemporary and traditional basketry at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton includes more Native American basketry than any previous show mounted by the National Basketry Organization. The exhibit accompanies the national organization’s biennial conference, which is being held next week for the first time in the Northeast, at Stonehill College in Easton.

The only nationwide association for basket makers in a country where new approaches to the art of basketry have taken flight in the past three decades, the group began 12 years ago “to clear up the divide’’ between traditional and contemporary artists, said Michael Davis, the organization’s president and a basket maker himself.

Contemporary basketry, while using either traditional or modern materials, typically produces sculptural works that don’t resemble conventional notions of a basket, Davis said.

“It’s a hobby. It’s a profession. We cover a gamut,’’ Davis said of the range of interests served by the North Carolina-based group. “There are different levels of membership. We have a membership that’s international.’’

The organization has also established connections with Native American basket makers. Through the effort of exhibition judge Ann McMullen, a curator at the National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution, the biennial conference’s accompanying show includes work by 21 Native American basket makers.

Beginning Tuesday, the six-day get-together includes 11 three-day classes and seven seminars in which artists share their knowledge of contemporary trends and traditional methods of basket making. A full day for registered participants includes two seminars, two class periods, and an evening visit to an area museum or gallery.

“We’re more interested in the process,’’ Davis said of the conference’s goals. “Not everyone will carry home a basket, but they will certainly experience a lot.’’

Illustrating the range of classes, Mary W. Thompson will teach a “Traditional Cherokee Basket (double woven)’’ workshop. Drawn from the Eastern Cherokee tribe, the technique includes weaving two sides of the basket separately.

“When you are finished, it has a different design on the inside and the outside. The two ladies [Thompson and her mother] are real masters,’’ Davis said.

In contrast, Lois Russell teaches a course in contemporary basketry involving the knotting of waxed linen. “It’s stunning,’’ Davis said of the results.

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