Alice Ogden

Alice has devoted 44 years of her life to making baskets.

At 16, she graduated from high school and left her hometown of Webster, NH to study loom weaving in Toronto, Canada. During this time her interest in basket making began. She returned to New Hampshire in the 1970’s during the peak of the “back to the land” movement and moved into a cabin in the woods. She was cloth weaving to support herself in addition to teaching herself how to harvest black ash trees, prepare splint material and weave baskets. Basket making complemented her simplistic lifestyle and she realized she could make a living from her craft. 

At age 19, Alice bought an 1823 one room school house in Henniker, New Hampshire. This would become her basket studio. She spent much of her time weaving baskets and studying the work of traditional splint basket makers of New England. She researched photos from books to become a self-taught basket maker; influenced by the simple shapes and functional forms of the baskets that the Shakers were known for.

As a young self-employed artist, Alice became involved with the League of NH Craftsmen and the NH State Council on the Arts. 

As years progressed, She married a logger and together raised three children in Salisbury, New Hampshire. This is where her studio is today.

Alice's artistic practice continues to reflect her traditional values keeping her basket making as a small-scale business, still using the basic techniques and hand tools from years gone by.