Gualala Arts is pleased to again have the Bay Area Basket Makers for a free exhibit "Baskets and Beyond" in the Burnett Gallery May 10 through June 7, 2008. The BABM exhibit has traditionally been our highest selling exhibit and always has a well attended reception.

More information about the guild . . .

The Bay Area Basket Makers (BABM) guild is a non-profit organization. The guild was founded in 1984 by two basket makers who saw the need for supporting and developing a growing interest in basketry as both craft and art form. BABM serves as a source of information and inspiration, as well as a means of communication among basket makers.

Currently BABM has over 60 members, more than half of whom are active in guild activities. Most are from the greater Bay Area, but some now live as far away as Colorado and Utah. Our members' skills range from beginner to professional, and we welcome new members at all levels of expertise. Some of us make baskets for fun and as a hobby, while others are working artists, exhibiting their creations locally, nationally and internationally. Many of us have won awards for our work. One member even has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the smallest lidded pine needle basket -- a creation smaller than a dime! In addition, several members are well-known and well-loved instructors.

Baskets can be constructed from an amazing variety of materials, using many different techniques. Many of our members like to specialize in a specific technique using specific materials. Some of us use traditional techniques such as plaiting and coiling with traditional natural materials. Others use traditional techniques with unusual natural and recycled materials including telephone wire, plastic bags, fabric, cable ties, handmade paper, kelp and horsehair. Still others use non-traditional techniques, and some like to try everything at least once, coming up with imaginative styles and combinations. Any material that can be woven into a vessel can be experimented with, much to the delight of all of us.

In addition to wonderful potluck lunches at our monthly meetings, we highlight a specific technique and/or material, and spend several hours learning it together. Often one of our members will provide the demonstration and instruction, but we also invite experts in the field to instruct us in a technique that interests us.

Although BABM does not participate in many group shows, we have enjoyed recent success at the Danville Art Center, the Castro Valley library, and the Davisville Travel Agency Window Gallery in Davis. We have also shown our work many times at the Gualala Art Center. BABM is a member of the Conference of Northern California Handweavers (CNCH), having the distinction of being the only basketry guild in the organization. We participate and exhibit as a group at the yearly CNCH conferences.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.