Deep Gratitude for the Lanark Basketry Museum & Ankaret Dean

Posing with our straw braided baskets at the MERA schoolhouse in McDonald's Corners.

The workshop was the last in a series celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Lanark Basketry Museum, initiated by museum founder Ankaret Dean, and hosted by Melissa Cornacchia.

We had the most wonderful day outside cleaning and braiding straw beneath the hot autumn sun (we later took cover under a huge sugar maple, on the soft thyme lawn) and connecting to traditional craft and deeper values.

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Starting off with an intro and demo...

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Braiding first....

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Then sewing...

I had a blast teaching this lively group of strong inspiring women and am grateful for each and every one who brought their spirit to the group. As always, there was more than making baskets at play. Conversations and connection with land, place, and people were a big part of the day.

It's why coming together to make together is so important. We can do many of these things in isolation, and certainly with youtube at our fingertips, we can learn just about anyting from a video tutorial. But human connection matters, and the joy of meeting new people, hearing totally unexpected stories (life experience of being a corporate mascot, for example! ;)), having hands on assistance, witnessing each other's successes, and being celebrated... all matter.

A year ago, I drove all the way out to Elphin (a 2 hr drive from home) to stay with Melissa, and the next morning attend the introductory cattail weaving workshop with Ankaret Dean in the museum, next to her home in McDonald's Corners*. I had heard lots about Ankaret and about the Lanark Basketry Museum but had never visited.

I was blown away, and (classic me) -- smitten in wonderment. A small but extraordinary collection of all kinds of baskets was lovingly arranged by Ankaret, who had travelled extensively in pursuit of basketry knowledge, and had also experimented widely with local materials for decades. I poured over the collections, photographing everything, closely examining all the materials and techniques, and picked up copies of several past editions of The Basketry Express (Ankaret's quaerterly mailout newsletter that ran for over a decade).

I'll have to make a separate post some day about the museum collection and share those photos.

*The museum collection is now housed in the Middleville Museum

I spent that rainy day in the carriage house happily learning alongside Ankaret and Melissa, very grateful for the opportunity and the chance to get more guidance working with rushes and cattails.

Ankaret charmed with her lively spirit, her British accent, and her many stories, and most of all, with her passion and enthusiasm for working with local materials. Her stories of how basketry took her on many far off journeys, and opened up a vast world for her in her later years, was deeply inspiring. She was encouraging of pursuing further studies and grant opportunities, and invited me to come teach the following year as part of the museum's 10th anniversary. I was taken aback, truly, not expecting to be good enough, and partly, not being able to imagine a year down the road. But I had received the grant to travel and study straw craft, and I had some semblance that in a year I would have completed my mentorship trip and had lots of my own study and travel stories to tell, and certainly some more techniques 'under my belt'.

And almost exactly a year from that day, I indeed did return, and had the honour of teaching this fine group of burgeoning basketweavers. We met in the MERA schoolhouse, a special community hub that Ankaret had been instrumental in supporting for many years.

Full circle.

Ankaret passed away the next day (in Perth, surrounded by family).

She leaves behind such a sweet legacy of learning, and of community building.

I am deeply grateful for the chance to have met Ankaret before her health fully declined, and to be able to see her in her element, surrounded by the beautiful museum that she created with her passion and dedication.

Ankaret with Melissa in 2021.

Ankaret taught her last class almost a year ago.

More about Ankaret and the museum in Melissa's words, here: https://www.lanarkhighlandsbasketrymuseum.ca/blog/pnv82isxhvbhal2p4fxl9b1r4cottn

Thank you, Ankaret. Rest in peace.

Sept 29, 2026

Wilno, ON