About the Artist

Jan Treesh with a special order basket she made in 2020

When Jan first learned to weave in 1985, she and her husband lived in West Lafayette, IN with their 6 young children who ranged in age from one year to nine and a half. She was a stay-at-home mom who learned weaving techniques from a good friend. After the children went to bed, she continued teaching herself and soon began creating her own designs. A year after she started weaving, she and her husband were blessed with their seventh child and she designed a baby basket in which he could sleep.

Basket weaving was an instant addiction for Jan. She loved working with the reed and making baskets to give as gifts and for her own personal use. She also enjoyed teaching her children the craft. They often accompanied her to shows and made baskets while visitors watched.

Jan and her husband and children moved to Philpot, KY (Daviess County) in 1989 and she soon began teaching classes and attending craft shows. She was involved in 2 Omni Craft shows at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts and also taught some classes through the Museum and through the Owensboro Adult Education program. In 1993 she helped to start the Woven Together in Western KY Basket Guild, serving in different officer capacities through the years. Jan also served on the KY Basket Maker Association board for several terms. In 1996 Jan was Juried into the Kentucky Craft Market Program and has been active in that program ever since.

From 1997 to 2005 she owned a small craft and gift shop called Reed, Ribbon and Silks in Owensboro, KY. It served as a studio for her work until she sold that shop in April of 2005. Jan and her husband moved to Lexington where she continues to weave part time and he works as the Executive Director of a state insurance trade association. They are active in their church and enjoy spending time with each other, family, friends, their adult children, and their many grandchildren.

Jan’s baskets are all woven with reed, accented by hand-dyed reeds, seagrass, and other materials, and are finished with Danish oil stain to preserve their beauty. Each beautiful basket is signed, dated, and numbered according to how many baskets Jan has woven. Her baskets can also be found at the following locations: Kentucky Artisan Center and Log House Craft Gallery, Berea, KY; Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave, KY; Completely Kentucky, Frankfort, KY; and various Kentucky State Park Gift Shops.