Smoke Signals 3
Aspiring Basket Artist
Anyone interested in learning
Sam's basket making technique,
please contact her at
503-879-3896 or
sam.hennyspiritmtn.com
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FEBRUARY 15, 2001
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Continued from front page
Sharing is clearly the spirit of the
endeavor, as Henny considers the
idea of financial gain ludicrous. Art,
she ventured, is purely its own re
ward and the only money desired
from the class would be to offset the
cost of materials.
Henny has always, throughout her
personal history, been artistically
inclined. She has dabbled in, and
continues to dabble in painting,
drawing and calligraphy. But for
whatever reason, her latent talent is
in basketry.
"Honestly," she said, nodding. "I
weave every day."
Although the idea for basketry en
tered her head long ago, Henny
never entertained the thought until
she worked at the Song Basket Mar
ketplace, the small craft store for
merly located off of Highway 22 in
front of Spirit Mountain Casino.
"We sold lots of arts and crafts
there," she said. "But I noticed a
major lack of baskets even though it
was in the name."
Thus her goal to absorb the skill,
and ascend to its highest levels.
"I'd like to be a master weaver," she
declared.
How one achieves that status she
confessed not to know, but nonethe
less that is her lofty aim.
Numerous samples of Henny's
work abound in her office and near
the desks of co-workers. The sizes of
the baskets vary some are palm
size, others comparable to a coconut
or human head. The shapes equally
vary, from simple vase to warped
cylinder. But no other quality of the
baskets could be more emphatic than
that of color.
Simple cream-colored hemp twine
forms the "skeleton" of a basket, and
BASKET DISPLAY Grand Ronde Tribal member Sanda "Sam" Henny
considers her basketry to be her art. Despite her immense respect and
admiration of traditional basketry, she is willing to try new things with
her art. Her style and easy manner have led to a following of Tribal
members interested in learning more about Native basketry.
that is fleshed over by handsome
Pendleton wool and yarns that boast
colors for which Henny is eternally
grateful.
One basket is a cauldron-shaped
medley of strong earthy rust and rich
turquoise, another a harmonious
blend of aquatic shades. Her prized
work, a slight cone-shaped piece with
its top lopped off, features a series of
earth-toned triangles, all of which
acknowledge skyward, presumably a
reflection of the artist's mood.
"Yes, that was a definitely a very
'up' time in my life when I finished
that one," she said proudly.
The amount of time to make a bas
ket depends, naturally, on size, com
plexity and of course skill. Henny
estimates a medium-sized basket can
take roughly two to three weeks, and
if she's especially enamored of one,
even less.
Although she originally learned
designs patterned after traditional
Columbian Plateau baskets, Henny
has since then ventured off into a
different direction. She displays a
love of geometry, as many baskets
are adorned with triangles and other
basic shapes, such as loops and semi
circles. Most of her designs are im
promptu, for she has learned, like
many artists across the globe, that
the best ideas come to you, and not
vice versa.
"Each basket sings its own song,"
she said.
Her work has not gone unappreci
ated. Spirit Mountain Casino had
an exhibit of her work in July of
2000, and the Tribe included one of
her baskets in its poster for the Res
toration Act of 1983. And this is say
ing nothing of the numerous requests
she receives from Tribal members
and non-Tribal members alike to
make baskets for them.
Henny downplays the popularity
of her work, noting that she is rarely
satisfied with any single project.
"Look at this one here," she said,
grabbing the rust and turquoise
marvel from atop the shelf. "I
screwed up on this triangle over
here."
"Or this one," she held one out and
pointed to the top, where an awk
ward looking knot jutted out. "I still
had a hard time learning to finish."
The notion that there is always
room for improvement could be ide
ally suited in the confines of such a
creative mind, especially one that
looks to be a teacher. Yet Henny is
not so selfish as to just push her own
agenda. What she really wants is
more people, Native American or not,
to open up to art.
"I think an art institute or more
classes out here would be wonder
ful," she said. "We need more art,
not crafts."
"We can't just keep displaying ar
tifacts all the time," she added.
"We've got to create some new ones."
The eagerness to create something
new serves adequately to inspire
Henny, but unfortunately it has also
drawn the ire of traditionalists. On
one occasion a would-be critic bluntly
told her the baskets "weren't like
Grand Ronde." It was an ignorant
statement, spawned from arrogance,
and yet it stung.
"I'm from Grand Ronde," she said.
"So (as an artist) isn't what I do
'Grand Ronde?"
For Henny, the central issue is that
people are simply copying old de
signs, oblivious to the notion that
even those "traditional" designs
would not have arrived at their
present state had not somebody, at
some point, deviated from a formula.
Is not Native American art, she of
fered, art done by Native Americans?
Some think that distinction belongs
only to work that replicates art taken
from a specific time frame in Tribal
history. For example, is "traditional"
forever to be that which mimics pre
settler art, since it is not influenced
by Western ideas?
"We are trying to recreate some
thing that is gone," she observed. "We
have to move on at some point."
"Those who set the rules," she said,
alluding to the "traditionalist experts.
"They weren't around back then.
"To set boundaries isn't traditional,
it's contemporary."
Henny has met with numerous
basket-weavers of note, and they've
been routinely impressed by her
work.
"They tell me 'Whoa! Your stuff
really stands out'," she said.
Is that good?
"Yes!"
Veterans' Memorial to hold Fundraiser in Willamina
MARCH 30: Banquet and Auction will be the first
fundraiser of the year for the Veterans' Memorial effort.
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's Veterans' Memorial Ad Hoc
Committee will hold their 1st Annual Dinner and Auction on Friday,
March 30 at the VFW (Veteran's of Foreign Wars) Hall in Willamina.
The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the auction is scheduled to start at
7:30 p.m.
Dinner tickets are $7.50 and can be purchased from Veterans and mem
bers of the Memorial Committee. The purchase of a dinner ticket also
makes you eligible for this year's door prizes including a PlayStation 2.
There will be a silent auction as well as the regular auction. Items in
the auction will include a TV, art, free dinners, lodging and a Pendleton
blanket.
The committee has raised over $40,000 so far and the goal is to raise
$300,000 by the completion of the project, which is scheduled to be fin
ished in May of 2003.
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PLACE OF RESPECT The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's Veterans'
Memorial Ad Hoc Committee is raising funds for a planned memorial to
honor our men and women Veterans. The memorial will honor both Tribal
and non-Tribal Veterans from the communities of Grand Ronde, Willamina
and Sheridan. The memorial is unique in that it is a joint-effort with Tribal
and non-Tribal Veterans and in that it will prominently honor our women
Veterans as well as our men. Artist drawing by Steve Bobb