Basket - Vermont Abenaki Artists Association

Enrolled Citizen of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation

Juried Artist since 2014

Image of Bill and Sherry Gould — Bill and Sherry Gould

Bill Gould lives in Warner, NH with his wife Sherry. They were both born and raised in New Hampshire. Together they raised their two daughters in Warner. Bill is a lumberman by trade. They celebrate their Abenaki heritage and love making beautiful baskets.

Together Sherry and Bill studied utilitarian Abenaki basket-making in 2006 under master artist Newt Washburn of Bethlehem, NH. Bill has taught Steve Lewko Abenaki utility basket making for two years through an award from the NH Arts Council, Traditional Arts program.

In 2011 Bill, together with Jesse Lacquer started the NH/VT Abenaki Basketmakers Alliance. Bill and his wife, Sherry, work to maintain basketmaking as part of Abenaki culture through teaching other Abenaki through the traditional arts programs in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Artist Statement

I like to make baskets. My life and livelihood revolves around wood. Basket making ties my love of wood to my Native American heritage. I got started back when my wife needed molds and tools to make her baskets. Eventually, I worked with Newt Washburn; I learned to identify brown ash trees, cut them, pound them and prepare the wood into strips for splints and weavers or handles or rims.

I love working with a crooked knife; it allows me to feel the wood. Newt taught me to try different methods and do what works best for me. I like a certain method of joining my swing handles; instead of using a small brass nail, I weave a tail of the wood through itself. I think that works good. It is especially rewarding for me to hold a finished basket in my hands, knowing that I have made good choices about using the right pieces of wood and preparing them with skill.

In my daily work, I harvest trees, saw them into boards, provide slabs for boiling sap to syrup, provide lumber to build things like houses or furniture, renovate my home and heat my house with it. Basket making requires no modern technology to create something visually pleasing that is as functional today as it was 200 years ago. I want to do my part to preserve this timeless culture. When people see my basket, I’d like them to see its art form and to see themselves using it.

Contact Info

Note: The Goulds do not have a store; however, they will accept custom orders.

Email: [email protected]

Image of Toboggan made of Ash, Cherry, & Birdseye Maple — Toboggan made of Ash, Cherry, & Birdseye Maple by Bill Gould

Image of Lamp Shade Basket made by Bill Gould. — Lamp Shade Basket

Image of Fish Creel with Leather Straps made by Bill Gould. — Fish Creel with Leather Straps

Image of bicycle basket made by Bill Gould. — Bicycle basket

Demonstrations

2013

Discovering Your Native American Roots, Franklin Pierce Homestead, Hillsboro, NH
Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, Harvest Moon Festival, Warner, NH
Lee Farm Fiber Festival

2012

Nulheganaki. Island Pond, VT
Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, Harvest Moon Festival, Warner, NH

2011

“New Hampshire Open Doors”
Harvest Moon Festival, Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, Warner, NH
Town of Holderness 250th Celebration, Holderness, NH
The Hillsboro Historical Society., Hilsboro, NH
Franklin Pierce Homestead, ,NH

2010

Cornish Fair, Cornish, NH

2009

League Of NH Craftsmen Fair

2008

Saratoga Native American Festival, Saratoga, NY

Exhibits

2014

“Traditional Sources, Contemporary Visions” – Invitational Group Art Exhibit
Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, VT

2011

Basket Trail, Warner Historical Society, Warner, NH.

2010

Baskets and Boxes, Gallery 205, LNHC, Concord, NH
New England-Based Indigenous Artists, Diamond Library, UNH, Durham, NH
Walking with Us – Honoring the Northeast Native American Heritage, Mill Brook

Gallery & Sculpture Garden, Concord, NH.

2009

Tomorrow’s Masters, Hopkinton Historical Society, Hopkinton, NH
First People of the Northeast, Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden, Concord, NH

2007

Gallery 205, League of New Hampshire Craftsman (LNHC), Concord, NH.

Consultations

“Abenaki Basket Trail” Organizing consultant, sponsored by Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, Hopkinton Historical Society, Newbury Historical Society, Warner Historical Society, New Hampshire Historical Society (2009-2011)
“Hillsboro, NH Living History Event” Implementing a Native American component to this annual event. For 2011 funding from the NH Council on the Arts paid three Native American artists to present. For 2012 historic presentation of an early 19^th century Abenaki basket maker tourist camp with sales will be integrated to the program on Jones Road. (2010 – present)
“Holderness 250^th Anniversary” Arranged Native American artisians to demonstrate beadwork, basketmaking and flute making. Also a woods walk, “The Feast at our Feet” (2011)

Featured Articles
Aug 2009, Notice of 76^th annual Craftsmen’s Fair, Bradford artist demonstrators [online]. Bradford, NH: http://bradfordbridge.com, The Bradford Bridge. Available from World Wide Web: (http://bradfordbridge.com/2009/2009b_August_bradford_bridge.pdf)
2010. “timothy liles: new england collection at new york design week 2010” [online]. Design Boom. Available from the World Wide Web: (http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/10211/timothy-liles-new-england-collection-at-new-york-design-week-2010.html)
Josh Trott, “Bill Gould, Basket making, and the Emerald Ash Borer,” Writing of Indigenous New England, accessed February 13, 2014, http://indnewengland.omeka.net/items/show/115.

Awards

Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant NH Council on the Arts, Steve Lewko intern, Warner, NH, 2012
Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant NH Council on the Arts, Steve Lewko intern, Warner, NH, 2013

Affiliations

NH/VT Abenaki Basketmakers Alliance
League of New Hampshire Craftsman (2009-present)
Northeast Basket Makers Guild (2010-present)
Vermont Abenaki Artists Association