Nantucket Baskets – March 23 & 30

Instructor: Bob Antonishak

Skill Level: Some basket weaving experience is preferred but not required

This workshop will include the use of all necessary tools, mold, cane, and reed to complete a Nantucket basket ready for finishing.  The mold size will be between 3 and 5 inches with a solid cherry rim and base.  It is not necessary to have basket-making experience but would be helpful.

The Nantucket-style basket is made on a mold using cane and reed material.   The weave is tight and with narrow spacing between the staves.

The first true Lightship Baskets were made in the mid-to-late 1800s aboard the Lightship stationed on the Nantucket Shoals. The first Lightship Station on the Nantucket Island Shoal was established in June 1854 and crewed by six men.^[4] Deployments aboard the Lightship often lasted for 30 days and the crewmembers generally had little to do.^[5] The earliest Lightship Baskets begin appearing in the 1860s and are generally of more utilitarian form. The first purse style basket with a lid was made by Lightship Captain Charles Ray (1798–1884) and is relatively similar to the type sold today. Lightship basket bases, rims, and staves tended to be made on-island, with lightship crewmembers bringing these items on board the ship to do the actual weaving and help pass the time. The molds were originally made from old cut-up ships’ masts.

If you have any questions please contact Bob Antonishak at raa108@yahoo.com.

All materials are included in the tuition.

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