Sculptural Basketry: Exploring Form, Color & Tactility
with Dee Clements
$175 lab fee | July 13–25 | Skill-building
Focusing on the expressive potential of 3D weaving and sculptural basketry, this course invites students to explore a range of basketry techniques to create forms, vessels, and structural objects with an emphasis on tactility, color, and creative experimentation. Beginning with small sample projects to introduce key techniques, followed by opportunities to develop a personal small-scale sculptural piece, students will have the option of weaving over molds and formers or working freehand, using various base types to explore how structure and form emerge through process. We will also experiment with dyeing reed, learning techniques to create surface pattern and dimensional color through immersion, layering, and resist processes. We will study historical and contemporary approaches to sculptural basketry, with visual presentations and discussions of artists such as John McQueen, Ed Rossbach, Lillian Elliott, Hugh Hayden, Theda Sandiford, Katherine Westphal, and others whose work expands the boundaries of fiber and form. These case studies will anchor our creative exploration of how basketry can intersect with conceptual, sculptural, and material practices. Emphasizing experimentation, material play, and hands-on making, this course is perfect for artists, designers, and craftspeople interested in fiber, sculpture, and the expressive possibilities of woven form. One assignment will invite students to consider the conceptual and abstract possibilities of weaving by introducing spokes, lattices, netting, and mixed materials. The course will culminate in a presentation of woven wares.
SAIC students: This is a 3-credit course; use the course code FIBER 634 001.
Dee Clements (she/her/ella) is a sculptor and designer whose practice uses the language of weaving and ceramics to explore her interests in materials, ethnography, and gender politics. She holds a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies and Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA in 3D Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Her work is currently represented by Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami.