Debbie Nicholas (Artist Profile)

Debbie Nicholas comes from a long line of Passamaquoddy basketmakers. Her mother Edith Neptune Pond picked sweetgrass and was renowned for her sweetgrass braid, her uncle Peter Neptune makes “fancy” work baskets, and her aunts Theresa Neptune Gardner and Clara Neptune Keezer instilled in her a passion for making baskets.  To this day, everyone in the family continues the tradition of harvesting sweetgrass.

After attending a Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA) workshop, Debbie began weaving baskets. She then apprenticed with her aunt Clara, learning how to make strawberries, blueberries, and fancy baskets. When Clara suggested that she create her own signature style, Debbie surprised her aunt with a black cat basket as a gift.

Nicholas often sketches out her basket designs before she weaves them. In 2023, she was commissioned to make the Friends of the Hudson Museum raffle basket. Proceeds from the ticket sales for the Winter Market raffle help support the Wabanaki Winter Market.

Gallery – Debbie Nicholas, Passamaquoddy Basketmaker

Video – Debbie Nicholas, Passamaquoddy Basketmaker

(Source: PBS)

Upcoming 2024 Wabanaki Winter Market (Saturday, December 14, 2024):

Organized by the Hudson Museum, the Wabanaki Winter Market is New England’s largest holiday gathering of Wabanaki artists. The annual December event features award-winning Wabanaki weavers as well as new artists representing the next generation of artists.

The event is supported in part by a grant from the Onion Foundation.

Location of the event: The Collins Center for the Arts (2 Flagstaff Road | Orono, Maine)

Date: Saturday, December 14, 2024 (from 9 am to 3 pm)

Contact: Gretchen Faulkner | Director, Hudson Museum (207.581.1904) For event updates, please visit: https://www.wabanakiwintermarket.org