Last Saturday I visited Jan Hopkin’s studio in Mukilteo with Marci Rae McDade and three of her students. Marci is the editor of the Surface Design Journal (and a pal) and was up here for the celebration on Friday night of High Fiber Diet at Bellevue Arts Museum. We all had a regular slumber party here after the event and then went on an art viewing trip on Saturday.

Jan gave a talk a few years ago at the Contemporary Quilt Art Association about her work and her methods. She’s amazing! Her methods and materials present modern takes on the traditional skills of basket making. She uses them to address contemporary themes, specifically those facing women. Fantastic stuff!

I was excited to see where she works and also her store of materials and I was not disappointed. She started by showing us around her house and her collection of ethnographic art. Her husband is also a painter and the house is filled with art and with reminders of their ancestors.

Sometimes I get stressed and disgruntled about how labor intensive my pieces are but a visit to Jan gave me some perspective. Each of her pieces take her about six months to make. The hours she put in are astonishing.

Here are some pictures (not very good, I’m afraid) of her studio and storage area.

a terrible picture of Jan in her store room (bad lighting)

lotus tops with cedar bark looping

grapefruit peels, one of Jan's non-traditional materials