Karen Engel
Tribe: Shoalwater Bay
Based In: Snohomish, WA
Email: klengel70@gmail.com
About the Art
The tradition of basket weaving runs deep in my family. I feel honored to follow in the steps of Great Great Great Aunt Satsop Ann, a Skokomish Weaver photographed with her baskets surrounding her.
My baskets are twined with wool yarn over hemp with design motifs derived from Skokomish culture. The wolf, tail down, represents strength and teamwork while the boxes within boxes may represent wealth or fish traps. The edge designs are called crow's dishes, which are limpets as split open by crows. The hair dog, tail up, also symbolizes wealth. Another element, the Western Grebe, stands for awareness or alertness.
As I continue to improve my weaving skills, my wish is to help preserve traditional designs and to honor the women who came before me.
About the Artist
Inspired by her ancestor Satsop Ann's Skokomish baskets and encouraged by her aunts who were Basket Weavers, Karen Engel follows a family tradition of basket weaving. Using modern materials rather than traditional, Karen uses yarn twined over hemp to create soft-sided baskets that incorporate design motifs from Skokomish culture. Karen is an elder of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe and an active member of the Northwest Basket Weavers, Vi Phillips Guild. Through the Guild she has taken many classes and workshops, working with various materials and weaving methods. Karen's baskets have been in exhibits sponsored by the Northwest Basket Weavers Guild, the National Basketry Organization and Yehaw. Her goal of weaving baskets to honor her ancestors and help preserve traditional designs has led her to the method of twined basketry she uses today.
