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S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 1 1 1 Maine Life BasketsfromeBayBackgroundBlakegumprecht will be something different. Shes famous for her strawberry and fruit baskets but then she makes a snowman or a bumble bee Her bas- kets are so colorful and full of curls diamond weavesandbows.Justseeingthemmakesyou happy. As for the strong and tight quality of herweavingItsthestandardthatIandmany others measure our work against. B eyond novel shapes and a bold use of colorevidentinmanybutnotallofher piecesClarasbasketsaredistinguished by a particular diamond weave passed down throughherfamilyandtheinnovativewayshe crisscrosses sweet grass in and out of the ash. Those characteristics can be seen in the work of her two sons Rocky and Kenny noted bas- ketmakers in their own right. Clara mentored both of theminformally during their grow- ing up years They just picked it up because I made baskets every day and later as her ap- prentices in MIBAs formal masterapprentice program. Among basketmakers in Maines four tribesthe Passamaquoddy Penobscot MaliseetandMikmaqcollectivelyknownas Wabanaki or Dawnland peopleone can identify distinct family styles. Distinguishing styles between the tribes is more difficult due to generations of intermarriage especially be- tween Passamaquoddy and Penobscot. In 2002 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded Clara a Heritage Fellow- ship honoring her artistic excellence as well as her contribution to our nations tradition- al arts heritage. Clara has played a major role in the revitalization of Maine Indian basket- ry. According to Theresa Secord who served as MIBAs director for two decades Clara was one of our founding members and she is the one person who taught every year in the MIBA masterapprentice program for at least 20 years. She is really the matriarch of MIBA in so many ways. Jennifer Neptune elabo- rates Here she is this amazing amazing art- ist and yet so humble about herself and her work. She has always been more than gener- ous with her time teaching workshops in ad- dition to her individual apprentices sharing all the tricks shes figured out encouraging and inspiring so many others. A true artist in life as well as in bas- ketmaking. n Bunny McBride lives in Bath. Her extensive writing on Wabanakis includes the books Women of the Dawn Indians in Eden Molly Spotted Elk A Penob- scot in Paris and Our Lives in Our Hands Micmac Indian Basketmakers. A Gallery of Clara Neptune Keezers Baskets from eBay Turquoise natural curl 3.75 tall. 132.50 Special basket small loop curls double bow handle 5.5 tall. 197.75 Special basket with small loop curls and double bow handle 4 tall. 250.00 Very lovely May Day candy basket NEA Award winner 6 to top of handle. 62.75 Large Open Basket Loop Edging at Top 5.5 tall. 242.75 Graceful loops at basket bottom natural color 4.5 tall. 152.75 3.75 tall. 132.50 tall. 152.75 242.75 double bow handle 5.5 tall. 197.75 6 to top of handle. 62.75 Bid on a Basket