Gourd Basket Making with Colleen Runner

Gourd baskets are made from the dried, hollow shell of gourd fruits.  Gourd baskets are very functional and last for many years.  The basket construction willl be coiling, which is a bundle of rods stitched into a spiraling oval or round form with a thin, flexible element.

The workshop will focus on learning how to make a basket starting with a hard shell gourd and attaching pine needles with waxed linen and other natural material using the coiling technique..

The workshop attendees will learn how to clean and prepare a large hard-shelled gourd, marking the top and sides of the gourd for the handle of the basket, and choosing a design and materials to coil around the top and sides of the basket.  The will learn how to coil with pine needles and other natural materials and will sand the cut edges until very smooth, decorating the gourd basket as desired.

Colleen Runner  has been studying, weaving and teaching basket making since 1985. She has studied Shaker style with John McGuire, traditional willow weaving with Marilyn Moore, Pine needle basketry with Diane Stanton, Sculptural form and wicker techniques with Ruth Palmer, and black ash basketry with Mary Adams. She has taught classes locally at art galleries and in area schools. She was the principal basket-maker at the Rochester Folk Art Guild from 1985-1994. Currently, Ms. Runner is creating one of a kind baskets for her own pleasure and that of her family.

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