Baskets Add to calendar JoAnn Kelly Catsos ♦ Baskets Hudson Valley Area | Baskets | Website JoAnn Kelly Catsos has been making black ash baskets, inspired by the traditional Shaker and native New England styles, for the past 30 years. Before beginning her weaving, JoAnn draws and calculates the measurements of her basket. She then chooses a weaving pattern, which may include her very own invention: the octofoil. The basket is woven around a wooden mold that her husband has crafted. Using natural colors to uphold the traditional look, the basket starts to take shape. GET TO KNOW JOANN What drew you to your chosen craft? I have always worked with my hands – always made things. I had dabbled in a number of crafts prior to making my first basket – pottery, sewing, silver jewelry. I began making rattan reed baskets over 30 years ago when our children were infants. The reed was commercially available and the tools required (scissors, clothespins and a water bucket) were already in my house. But, when I wove my first basket of black ash splint with Shaker basketry historian Martha Wetherbee, it was life changing. There was something magical about harvesting a tree and turning it into a basket – creating a piece of utilitarian art. My passion for making baskets combined with Steve’s woodworking experience seemed a perfect match. Besides, it would give us a chance to work together! Being self-employed would give me the flexibility to stay at home with our three young children while pursuing my fascination with baskets. At that point I was eager to learn EVERYTHING I could about the field of basketry. I traveled to Thailand and Laos and made rattan baskets with skilled weavers in remote mountain villages. I learned to harvest and work with spruce roots and cedar bark with a native Haida basketmaker in Alaska. After years of studying basketry techniques, plant harvesting methods and weaving many baskets, in 2003, I received the Certificate of Excellence: level I in Basketmaking from the Handweavers Guild of America. I had learned about so many types of baskets and basketry materials, but I decided to follow my heart and continue my work with black ash splint. For a short while I sold my baskets at craft shows, but as I had a background in education, I began teaching workshops. I take pleasure in sharing my love of basketry with people, and seeing their pride when they leave class with a completed basket. Steve and I are fond of co-teaching a weeklong workshop titled ‘Tree to Basket’ which begins with students splitting a black ash log under Steve’s watchful eye, and culminates with completed splint baskets. Currently my black ash splint basketry business is a pleasing combination of teaching workshops, selling basketry supplies to students and weaving a few special baskets for sale. What do you enjoy most about your craft? Honestly, I enjoy ALL aspects of black ash splint basketry – from harvesting the tree to teaching the workshops. Making baskets of black ash splint satisfies some of my basic inner needs. Harvesting the black ash tree and processing the log into the satiny ribbons of splint keeps me in touch with nature, while designing and weaving the basket satisfies my artistic need to express myself. My husband, Steve, and I prepare all of the materials used in my baskets. We harvest the black ash logs near our home in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, process the logs into ribbons of splint, and make the wooden molds, handles, and rims needed for each basket. Most of the materials that we prepare are used for the many classes that I teach at craft schools and fiber/basketry conferences throughout the country. Steve’s skills gained in his many years as a builder and woodworker have proven to be invaluable in growing my business to what it is today. I enjoy teaching traditional black ash splint basketry workshops, but always look forward to time spent weaving my own special baskets. 25 years ago, my baskets were based upon traditional Shaker and native New England utilitarian styles. The clean lines have remained, but my baskets have evolved into smaller, more finely woven intricately patterned vessels. To obtain the symmetry that I desire, each basket is woven over a wooden mold that is removed once the weaving is completed. My passion is weaving miniature baskets, typically made with splint that is as small as 1/64 of an inch. It is definitely challenging, but incredibly rewarding to complete an Adirondack pack basket that is only 1-1/8” tall. Why is it important for people to make things with their own hands? People who make things with their hands have a greater appreciation for handmade objects, no matter what medium. But more importantly, creating something with your hands (whether it is a scribbled drawing on a scrap of paper or the painted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) is a way to express yourself. Artists and craftsmen are passionate about their work. They usually “create’” because they NEED to express themselves, not because they will make money by doing so. Although not always accurate, the phrase “starving artist” was coined for a reason. To be able to create art AND make a living at it is a true measure of success. Personally, I HAVE to make things. I have an indescribable urgency to work with my hands and create objects – every single day. Maybe it’s a tangible way to reveal my inner artist, or a lame excuse to avoid doing housework, but it is essential for my wellbeing. I have always told our three children to “Follow your heart.” Fortunately, I have listened to my own advice and have been able to build a wonderful life and successful career around designing and fabricating pieces of art. Black ash basketry is my business, but both Steve and I make many things by hand. It’s a special sense of accomplishment to look around the home we renovated together and to use items that we have made with our own hands; Shaker reproduction furniture, oval boxes and cabinets built by Steve, my woven rag rugs, stained glass windows, brooms and wrought iron hooks, and of course, our baskets. Life is good. In what ways are handmade goods better than those that are mass-produced? ALL baskets are made by hand. The process of weaving baskets has not been mechanized. Primitive people used whatever plants were growing in their area then developed methods to intertwine them together to form baskets to carry things. The traditional basket making material in the northeastern United States is black ash splint. As a craftsman (craftswoman?) I feel it is my responsibility, to the customer, and to myself, to make the finest product possible. I take pride in each step of our black ash splint basketry process and strive to make each basket technically and aesthetically perfect. I am extremely passionate about my basketry – I hope some of that emotion is evident in my work. What does the future hold for your type of work? The black ash trees, which grow mostly in northeastern US and southeastern Canada, are becoming more difficult to obtain. The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive beetle accidentally imported to Michigan from Asia about 10-15 years ago. As its name suggests, the borer is bright emerald green in color and feeds on ash trees (all varieties – including the black ash which we use for basketry). There are no natural predators, or not enough to keep the EAB population under control. The beetle is slowly progressing to the east and has been documented in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where we live. To limit the spread of the EAB through transporting wood with the bark on, moving firewood across county (or state lines) is illegal. We live on the border of Connecticut and New York, so this situation severely limits our harvesting of black ash trees. I am upset that my livelihood is being threatened, but I am more concerned for the Native Americans who have black ash splint basketry as part of their heritage. Because black ash splint basketry is labor intensive, requiring woodworking skill and access to black ash trees, there is not a huge number of black ash basket makers in this country. Steve and I are one of the few, if not the only, non-Native husband and wife team who involved with each step of turning a black ash tree into a basket. We will continue to process black ash splint and share our love of basketry by teaching workshops as long as we can obtain the black ash trees. Cast Iron Skillets, Baskets, Axes EPISODE | SCHEDULE ♦ BASKETS | AXES DISCOVER OTHER ARTISANS [rev_slider alias=”crafts”] #HandcraftedAmerica