The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON – Lauralee Northcott, of Winthrop, Idaho, will demonstrate her basket making skills in a demonstration at the Wenaha Gallery in Dayton on Sept. 16 from 1-4 p.m. Free refreshments will be provided by Savonnah Henderson, the gallery's framer, who is also a professional chef.

Basket weaving is just one of Northcott's may skills. The now-retired public school teacher spent 30 years as a wilderness horseback trail guide,pack cook and motivational speaker. She is also professional singer and musician in the Horse Crazy Cowgirl Band which was named the 2015 Western Music Association's Group of the Year.

During a music rehearsal, Northcott noticed a band member's mother weaving a basket and was immediately drawn to the craft. Two years ago, she traveled to the Nevada State Museum in Carson City to see the work of basket maker Dat So La Lee, a member of the Washoe tribe who lived from 1829 to 1925. Her work required a particulary gifted mathematical mind to produce the patterns for which she is famous.

"Weaving gives the same gift to me as it did to Dat So La Lee and all weavers: your breathing slows down and your mind relaxes as the work takes you along. Really, I think peace is a gift from all craftsmanship. The force of creativity works through us in many ways, and it is our task to get out of the way."

Northcott will share her skill in person at the Wenaha Gallery, located at 219 Main Street in Dayton, on Sat., Sept. 16 from 1-4 p.m. She will return to the gallery on Oct. 7 as a featured artist during Dayton on Tour/Art Crawl. A collection of her baskets will be on display Sept. 11 through Oct. 7.