Form,
Space and Spirit - A Statement 
I
am a maker of objects. I have chosen basketry as my
vehicle because it allows me the greatest freedom to
work with color and pattern in a rigid form. Baskets
are my way to make a personal difference in a vast,
often impersonal,
computerized world.
Architecture
has always been an inspiration; the strength and simplicity
of Japanese courtyard gardens and the color and intimacy
of English cottage gardens. Many of these pieces begin
with an open grid and are double walled. Noises can
be heard from inside the walls of many of these, when
the baskets are handled.
The
textural pieces were inspired in an informal English
aviary. My intention was to recreate a bird's nest.
This surface technique was achieved by weaving hundreds
of short protruding pieces into the structure of the
basket. When these pieces cross, they blend together
to create subtle painterly effects.
In
Japan, I found the tea ceremony epitomized one culture's
respect for 
taking time to pay attention to detail and for their
appreciation of subtlety. My baskets have changing design
elements - both inside and out. My intention is to involve
the viewer through the discovery of these, as they look
at the basket.
I
use a weaving technique where five strands of rattan
are woven sequentially to create the "fabric"
of the walls and a form of tapestry to weave in the
specific designs. To imply a sense of weight and solidity,
often I weave the top edge back in toward the center.
To further suggest a sense of weight, both actual and
implied, I developed the double walled construction.
I enjoy this, because in making vessels, I am drawing
on my training as a potter.
In
keeping with my Norwegian heritage, I work in subdued
palettes of warm
oranges reds and gold, purples, blues and blue greens,
and neutral
shades of dark grey and taupe. I use fiber reactive,
color fast dyes on the reed
so that care and cleaning of the baskets is not a problem.
Biography
- Honors
1973 to date - Supporting myself through the sale of
my work and through teaching workshops (Haystack, Penland,
Arrowmont, University of Wisconsin,etc.)
2002,
1991-1993 Award for Excellence in Basketry, Society
of Connecticut Craftsmen
2000
Authored The Art of Basketry, Sterling/Chapelle Publishers
Award, Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC Judge
and Featured Artist, Northeast Basketmakers Guild Biennial
Exhibition
2000, 1991 Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Artist
Fellowship Grant, Major Project Grant
1996
Loan, U.S. Ambassador David Rawson, Bamako, Mali, Art
in Embassies Program Award, American Craft Exposition,
Evanston, IL
1994
Award for Body of Work in Fiber, Chester Springs Studio,
Yellow Springs,PA
1990,
89 Award for Excellence, Washington Craft Expo, Washington,
DC
1987
Designated as Master Craftswoman by the Society of Connecticut
Craftsman
1985
American Craft Museum Design Award, Designed and Made
for Use Competition
1981
Award for Excellence and Craftsmanship, Philadelphia
Craft Show, Phildelphia, PA Residency at Artpark, Lewiston,
NY
1980
Chaired the Connecticut Council for the Crafts
1977
Grant to explore basketry techniques, Connecticut Commission
on the Arts
1972
B.F.A. from Syracuse University (majors in ceramics
and textiles) Attended Handarbetets Vanner, weaving
school, Stockholm, Sweden Apprenticed Marie Triller,
tapestry artist, Dannemora, Sweden
1971
Attended the University of Oslo, Norway to study Norwegian
Crafts
Selected Public Collections
2002
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
2002,
1999 Charles A Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI
2002,
1992 Decorative Arts Museum, Arkansas Arts Center, Little
Rock, AR
2001,
1975 Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American
Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
1997
Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC
1995
U.S. Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand
1994
Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Hartford, CT
1993
White House Collection of American Craft, Washington,
DC
1992
MCI Corporation, Washington, DC Selected Recent Mixed
Media Exhibitions
2002
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT - Yale Collects
Art: Gifts from Robyn and John Horn Snyderman-Works
Gallery, Philadelphia, PA - Fiber Survey 2002
2001
American Craft Museum, NY, NY - Objects for Use - Handmade
by Design R. Duane Reed, St Louis, MO - Diversity +
Exploration: New Forms in Wood
2000
Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI Who
Knows Where or When: Arts Interpret Geography &
Time browngrotta arts, Wilton, CT - Scandinavian Artists
CT Commission on the Arts, Hartford, CT - Fellowship
Artist
Exhibit Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AK - Living
With Form
1999
gallery W.D.O., Charlotte, NC - Three person show Selected
Recent Solo and Group Basket Exhibitions
2003
Yeiser Art Center + The National Basketry
Organization, Paducah, KY - Baskets Now 2003
2002
Ironwood Gallery, Ridgefield, CT - One Person Exhibition
Brookfield Craft Center, CT- Other Materials Other Forms:
Exploring Contemporary Basketry Fiber Art Center, Amherst,
MA - New Baskets New Hampshire Institute of Art - Basketry
Today,
A World of New Methods, New Materials Fine Eye Gallery,
Sutter Creek, CA - A Tribute
to Objects for Use
2002,99,98
Del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA - Contemporary Baskets
2002,
97 Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH - From the Indigenous
to the Outrageous: Contemporary American Baskets and
Contemporary Art Baskets
2002,
95 Decorative Arts Museum, Arkansas Arts Center, Little
Rock, AR - Baskets Now: USA and The New Basket
PUBLICATIONS
- BOOKS
The
Art of Basketry
by Kari Lonning (Paperback - March 2002)
The
White House Collection of American Crafts
by Michael W. Monroe, et al (Hardcover - April 1995)
