Beth Homa Kraus is a full-time basket weaver in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. After studying painting at Hamline University and working as a caseworker for the homeless in Baltimore, she interned at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota. During her internship, Beth learned many traditional crafts, including boat building, but mostly different styles of basketry. This sparked her obsession with birch bark, which is now her main medium. She locally and sustainably harvests and processes her own materials by hand.

Always trying to come up with new and usable birch bark items, she explores the mathematical grids of weave patterns using traditional techniques to make custom orders. Beth teaches birch basketry classes at North House, American Swedish Institute, the Weavers’ Guild, and Vesterheim, and hosts an annual Basket Camp. Through communal learning, public demonstrations, and facilitating harvests, she shares her love for this durable and beautiful material with people.