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PHOTO: BILL DIVEN
Natural materials are basic to the baskets I weave: rattan reed, juniper roots, salt cedar, bamboo, brown ash, and a variety of willow-some imported and some gathered from the arroyos and bosques of New Mexico where I live.
Color and texture come from the material itself, its natural hues varied by the season, mellowed and ripened with age. Everything is woven wet, then finished with an herbal oil.
During the past 10 years, I have continued to make "traditional" baskets, sturdy in shape, form, and function, rich in their simplicity. Since 1996 I have extended my creative efforts into "contemporary" basket work, emphasizing movement in the forms I design through the gentle manipulation of the materials in my hands and the use of various weaving techniques. These pieces are woven as wall pieces and free standing sculptures, ranging in size to 9.5 feet in height.
At the end of each work session, I hang or stand the finished and unfinished pieces and leave the studio. Yet I always return later in the day to look in at the pieces so that I may think of them in the space just as I am falling asleep or coming awake. For me, the making of baskets is both meditative and exciting-the rhythm of weaving, the feel of the basket in my hands, and the possibility of what is next.
EDUCATION & TRAINING
BA (Visual Arts/Weaving), 1977 Franconia College, Franconia, NH
New School for Social Research Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, 1975-76
AA (Visual Arts/Weaving), 1975 Franconia College, Franconia, NH
JURIED EXHIBITIONS, HONORS & AWARDS
Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, Colorado, 2003, 2004
Scottsdale Center for the Arts Festival, Scottsdale, AZ: 1998-2002
- Jurors Choice 2nd Place Fiber, 2002
- Jurors Choice 2nd Place Fiber, 1999
- Jurors Choice 2nd Place Fiber, 1998
American Craft Council Exhibition, Charlotte, NC, 2001
New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair, Albuquerque, NM: ,1992-2001
- Artists' Choice Award, 2001
- 2nd Place: Fiber, ceramic, mixed media, 2001
- First Lady of New Mexico Choice Award, 1999
- Merit Award, 1994
Fiesta Art Fair, Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio, TX: 1997-2001
- Best of Show, 2000
- Best Traditional Design, 1998
Kimball Art Center Arts Festival, Park City, UT: 1997-2000
Southwest Arts and Crafts Festival, Albuquerque, NM: 1993-1999
- Purchase Award, Summit Brokerage Corporation, 1998
- Award of Excellence for Artistic Achievement & Presentation, 1998
- Award of Excellence for Artistic Achievement & Presentation, 1997
- Award of Excellence for Artistic Achievement & Presentation, 1996
- Jurors Award of Excellence, 1993
Mayfair Artisans Folk Art and Antique Show, Denver, CO: 1995, 1996
Dona Anna Arts Council Renaissance Show, Las Cruces, NM, 1994
GAlLERY AFFILIATIONS
Shidoni Arts, Tesuque, NM, 1999-2004
Show of Hands, Denver, CO, 1996
Susan Gutt
Basketmaker
PO Box 443
Placitas, New Mexico
Studio Visits by Appointment
505 771 8354
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