Join us for an interactive demonstration and hands-on workshop creating a contemporary work of art lead by traditional Penobscot basketmaker, Sarah Sockbeson.
Happening at Maine College of Art & Design (522 Congress St.)
Free program; registration required and space is limited
The workshop provides an introduction to Sarah, her practice, and an overview of her cultural and contemporary practice. Learn about traditional ash and sweetgrass basketry and her experience as a contemporary Native American artist, creating work within a modern context, current environmental issues facing Maine’s natural resources, today’s use of both traditional and non-traditional materials.
Experiment and craft a work of art using instruction based on traditional knowledge that will incorporate materials you can gather and source from everyday supplies, recycled materials, and what some may consider alternative media.
This workshop seeks to introduce a new contemporary style of weaving and encourages creation utilizing components that employ creative constraint and alternative type mediums and materials, along with the use of your own unique experience and imagination.
Feel free to bring materials from nature, only if it has been:
Sustainably harvested
Deemed “safe” to travel / treated in such a manner that it has no potential to contain any type of insect, disease or parasite.
SUPPLIES (Suggested options):
Wood veneer sheets or strips or edge banding wood, plastic, or other
Any type of yarn, cordage, rope
Wire, any type/ gauge, including recycled old wires, cords or cables, coated or not, wire coat hangers
Heavy weight paper, Wallpaper, any type of thick paper, card stock, vinyl, watercolor paper, folders, document holders (plastic or paper)
Sticks, branches, willow, reed, bark, root, grass, flax, pine needles, yucca, palm fronds any other type of fibrous natural harvested material leaves or renewable plant materials, prepared or not (the more flexible the better)
Plastic or composite that can be cut into strips or used as a rigid base material
Shopping bags of any kind, paper, plastic,
Fabric, burlap, reusable shopping bags, plastic coated, vinyl
Old fabric scraps, (longer strips or pieces that can be cut or braided)
Any type of Basketry or canning supplies
Any type of fiber you can think of or enjoy working with, or can envision working well within the listed workshops have fun using your imagination and pondering over the possibilities...
Sarah Sockbeson is an award winning Native American Artist, culture bearer, and member of the Penobscot tribe, creating traditional yet contemporary brown ash and sweetgrass baskets. She is part of a new generation of basketmakers who've pushed the boundaries of Wabanaki cultural art to an exciting new level.
Growing up within the homelands of the Penobscot, Sarah always had a deep appreciation for traditional art, baskets in particular. Coming from a long line of basketmakers, it was unfortunate the line of knowledge stopped when her great-grandmother passed away before teaching her generation.
In 2004, Sarah was introduced to the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving cultural knowledge, and it was then she had the opportunity to apprentice with renowned basketmaker Jennifer Sapiel, Penobscot.
Since then, Sarah has honed her skills with each basket woven, becoming an integral part of the Wabanaki arts community. She continues to serve as an active participant, teacher/ mentor, and innovator among her tribe and the national Indigenous arts community. While her work is undeniable tied to cultural tradition, she infuses a style all her own, in the hopes that her work will serve as an inspiration to future generations of Native American artists.