Creative Fibre Magazine June 2005 Vol 8 no 1

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June 2005 vol.8 no.1

Highlights:

Wild Baskets

By Judy Dominic

Judy Dominic is a basketmaker and fibre artist living in Harrison, OH, USA, who exhibits regionally, nationally and internationally. One of 13 siblings growing up on a farm, she has been involved with natural fibres from childhood. She is a wife, mother of three sons, and interested, intrigued and involved with all sorts of fibre techniques including loom weaving, surface design, felting, papermaking, knitting, clothing design, etc. Judy, a tutor at the 2004 Aotearoa Textiles Regional Forum thoroughly enjoys the unexpected.

Defining baskets is not easy. As in much of life, for every straightforward definition, there are numerous exceptions. For the purpose of this discussion, let's take a shot at a straightforward definition and ignore the exceptions for the moment.

dominic1.jpg - 20kb As I see it, there are two major classes of baskets: those made in a recognisable form out of cultivated and processed materials, and those made into whatever form develops from found and gathered materials. I consider this second group of baskets to be wild baskets, fully using several meanings of the word.¹

A wild basket is not made with typical basketry materials nor is it necessarily in a typical basket shape. Its materials are not purchased from a basketry supplier nor processed to any great degree. It is a basket that has rough, unpolished or surprising materials which can often be the cause for its asymmetry and its uneven balance. Sometimes the object termed a basket may be only superficially related to one by virtue of technique or materials; in these instances an observer would be hard pressed to make clear identification. I am of the opinion that if the person coaxing the form into being feels that it is a basket, who am I to say it cannot be?

Wild baskets can be found all over the globe. They come in all shapes and sizes, makes and models. With and without stripes and spots, sleek or rough textured, stately or gangly; all have a wonderful sense of integrity about them. They are not usually known by common, functional names like 'Market Basket' or 'Spoon Basket' but rather by emotionally rich names like 'My Brother's Keeper' or 'River Journey'. Quite common in rural settings and gallery exhibits, they are often absent from the dining table and when heavy work needs to be done.

dominic2.jpg - 21kbThe materials of wild baskets can be found in woods or grasslands, under trees or along beaches. Some can be discovered in piles of yard waste or along electric line paths. Home gardens or indoor pots can supply wild materials. Round materials are most common (eg. vines and roots) but flat ones as well can be found (eg. tree bark and leaves). Often these materials are overlooked as requiring too much effort to make them useable.

There are also those wild baskets whose genetic material can be spotted at hardware stores, junk sales, scrap yards and food markets. Closets, basements and attics - any place of collection - can harbour the makings of a wild basket. Typically these are trickier to find than outdoor materials as they tend to disguise themselves as zippers, tubing, ribbons, wires, paper, yarns, sausage casing, fabric, boxes, kitchen utensils, etc. Though non-living materials are typically highly processed in their forming, the fact that they aren't meant to be basketry materials is what makes them wild. Once you become accustomed to seeing wild basket material in the odd place, you will notice it everywhere.

Strong and supple is the mantra of the basketmaker - the midwife of a wild basket. Finding the right materials for birthing a wild basket is extremely important as the original state of the materials plays an integral part in determining the final character of the piece. Knowing a variety of techniques (twining, plaiting, coiling, random weave, etc.) gives the intrepid basketmaker an edge in hunting materials - regardless of the material, a way can be found to use it.

Living materials such as vines, leaves with strong and long fibres, branches and bark, pine needles and roots, seaweed and brambles - all these have useful basketry character traits. Keep in mind the need to gather with care for your own personal safety as well as the safety of the plant which you are harvesting. A few simple guidelines are handy to follow while hunting living materials: 1, Woody vegetation (eg. vines, brambles, thin branches, etc.) that weathers over the winter without dying is useable either fresh, or dried and resoaked. 2, Thin, fragile-type plant parts (eg. leaves, pine needles, leaf stems, grass stalks, etc.) gathered green or dry can be dried, resoaked and mellowed before using.

dominic3.jpg - 18kb That said, every place has seasonal and climatic differences which can greatly influence the personality and viability of the live wild basket plants. Add the fact that every basketmaker uses the traditional and non-traditional techniques differently and you have an ideal situation for rule-breaking when it comes to gathering quality materials.

Strong and supple are also important elements when gathering non-living materials. Anything that suits the technique and finished-product purpose of the basketmaker is appropriate for use. Wires of all gauges, metal and plastic tubing, ropes, cardboard, discarded tools and utensils, plastic bottles, cast-off household items - look beyond its current use to see its potential as a basket material. The non-living materials may call for knowledge and use of different tools, but basic basketry techniques are still to be used.

Once materials with the right character are gathered, basketmakers are faced with the task of creating the basket. They are charged with forming the materials in a manner that takes full advantage of those wonderful qualities, coaxing the materials through their idiosyncrasies and irregularities to unveil their beauty and charm hidden within. Basketmakers can sometimes impose their will on the materials; more often than not, the materials, with their wild streak, show who is boss.

Developing a wild basket is a serious challenge. Very similar to raising a child, it involves knowledge, patience, risk and perseverance. Given the opportunity, it is well worth the effort.

Wild baskets are not the darlings of the art world nor are they the workhorses of the functional craft market. What they are is more important than that: wild baskets are the outcome of the time-honoured creative dance between maker and materials, the glorious result from the anxious midwife coaxing unusual materials into new basket life, the symbolic lifting up of all of creation as vital, valuable and gift.


¹Selected meanings from two sources for the definition of wild. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company : occurring, growing, or living in a natural state; lacking regular order or arrangement; full of, marked by, or suggestive of strong, uncontrolled emotion; extravagant; fantastic; risky; highly enthusiastic; deviating greatly from an intended course

Merriam-Webster Online : living in a state of nature and not ordinarily tame or domesticated; not subject to restraint or regulation; emotionally overcome; passionately eager or enthusiastic; going beyond normal or conventional bounds; fantastic; indicative of strong passion, desire, or emotion; deviating from the intended or expected course

photo from Judy Dominic Wild baskets CD.