I learned traditional ash and sweetgrass basketry on the Penobscot Nation reservation, when I was living and working there for my tribe as the staff geologist in the 1980’s. I became a basket maker in my 30’s apprenticing with the late Madeline Tomer Shay for 5 years. My great-grandmother was a renowned basket maker in our tribe and I watched her weaving baskets as I was growing up.I have mentored as many as a dozen basket makers and a number of my apprentices have gone on to teach their own apprentices. Some of those apprentices’ apprentices now have apprentices. My son, Caleb Hoffman is a long time apprentice and applys to be a SWAIA adult for the first time this year.My art practice reflects a quintessential Penobscot style and approach drawing upon ancestral designs and the natural world through the traditional hand-harvested ash wood and sweet grass. Most recently, my work is centered upon bringing awareness to environmental and climate change crises in our territory.
