Basket Vacation, Part 2: Autumn Olive

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Here is the Autumn Olive, Eleaganus augustifolia, basket i said i would talk about in my last post. I know it is crude, but i am pretty proud of it.


This fast-growing shrub quickly invades open areas and is considered a nuisance by property owners.I began playing with weaving autumn olive in 2002. My first attempts were dismal. My previous collecting/ weaving experience was limited to vines, and I found the Autumn Olive inflexible by comparison. I also could not deal with the extreme taper of the branches.In the interim years, I am beginning to understand what parts of the plant to harvest and how to use it.

I am thinking it probably should be managed and handled like willow. Since I have never had a willow basket class, I am pretty much flying by the seat of my pants, here. Usually I bring a book on vacation for ideas on how to handle this very tough plant, but this year I forgot to bring one! Oh well, time to test my memory and creativity!

I have been cutting the one-year old growth and trying to go back to the same places each year, to make withes to weave with. Problem is, I am there in the summer. They are supposed to be cut in the fall. But I have no real option. I also am cutting some new growth to have something to weave in the tight spots. Here you see me carrying it on my head, down to the creek to soak in order to make the border. I usually weight it down with rocks and leave it most of the day, or overnight.

This came out pretty well for a “garden basket,” which is all I have ever figured out to do with them….. This is a process- focused thing for me, the act of making the basket, figuring out what works and what doesn’t, the soothing repetitiveness of the weaving, interspersed with the challenges, is very recreational.

Here are some photos of some of my previous years’ attempts at using autumn olive.

When I come home, I put them out in the garden, and they keep for a few years, anyway…

Back from a Basket Vacation Retreat!

Well, just home from my annual trip to PA – my wild basket retreat each year. It is a family-owned farm, and my goal is to make baskets with what I find there. Yes, I bring a little other “stuff” just to make sure I have weaving material, but most of the time I weave whatever I can find in the woods.

Here I am the first day, collecting. This is just honeysuckle. By now, I have scoped out most of the open areas, but there is still woodland and a lot of tangled briars that I need to bushwhack through to say I really know what is there. That multiflora rose, mixed with black raspberries and smilax is a tough combination! Hence my surplus US Marine camophlage pants…they can take it pretty well. This is a pretty dramatic contrast to the dresses and skirts i wear at home every day. I wear pants so infrequently, the dogs get excited when they see me wearing them - they know it means i am going collecting!

And here are some honeysuckle baskets that I made throughout the week. Since I am working the honeysuckle green, it has a lot of shedding bark, and is somewhat brittle. But it makes a lovely little rustic basket. Traditionally, honeysuckle is dried, then boiled and “skinned” to make it very white and flexible. No time for that, though.



I generally average about a basket a day. This year, I gave one small one away, not shown here. Otherwise, this is my yield for the week. Some are started with cordage made from honeysuckle bark and grasses. (Actually, the big one is back is Autumn Olive, but I will tell you about that in another post!)

In this last pic you can see the pond below the farmhouse and the swing...what a lovely, peaceful place! Come back to read more about my vacation later!

New Exhibit Opening

I am Currently Exhibiting my piece "Purple Bird Catches the Blackberry Moon" at
ArtSpace Richmond
Plant Zero Art Center
Richmond, VA
June 26 through August 23, 2009

That means it's opening this Friday, people! If you are in the area, please consider this your invitation! I will not be able to attend, it just breaks my heart!

Artists' Reception and Gallery Talk:
Friday, June 26 from 6-7PM

Opening Reception:
Friday, June 26 from 7-10PM

Show Closes:
Sunday, August 23 at 4PM

for more information about events such as this, please see my Facebook Fanpage!

Pamela

Discovering Treasure

Found a new little gallery this week, tucked away in a corner just outside the city of Greenville, NC. What a little treasure!

InkStone Gallery is a wonderfully cozy experience, with tiny rooms chockfull of earthy artistic goodness. There is a wonderful cross-section of media and artists there, from fiber to 2-d to jewelry and pottery to glass. Every price point, too. Their website shows a nice representative of the artist offerings there, but fails to capture the entire charm and intimacy of the gallery.

As of this week, some of my work will be there...actually, one piece sold before we signed the contract, so i suppose that is a good sign. I am feeling very good about being a part of their artist community.

If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by and say hello to Lisa...and tell her i sent you!

pamela

And the Winner Is......Woolies! (Sara)

Congratulations, Sara! Your comment was picked by the randomizer as the winner of the teeny tiny horsehair basket.

For those of you who do not know Sara, please check out her Etsy shop, Woolies , where she makes and sells "natural stuffies!" Visit her Woolies Blog where she has regular giveaways. She also is the proprietor of the Etsy shop Buster and Boo,

Congrats again, Sara, you will need to convo me with your address so i can get your tiny treasury out to you right away!

pamela

Another great giveaway

The Etsy Treasury Team Blog is having another great giveaway!

A lovely necklace from Debbie of Santiam Designs.

Entering is easy! check it out!

Thanks for coming back again!
Pamela

Giveaway: Teeny Tiny Horsehair Basket!

Well, here is my first giveaway!



A TEENY TINY horsehair basket, only 10mm x 11mm. That is smaller than 1/2 an inch! It is the traditional olla or water jar shape...a very feminine shape. You see it balanced on the end of my index finger. As you can see, the individual hairs and my fingerprints are both visible in the picture, so you KNOW that pic is MUCH larger than life-sized!





This exquisite little basket is great for miniature collectors, dollhouse enthusiasts, horse lovers, basket makers, shadow box owners, pet lovers,...if you are one or all of those, or know one, this is a great giveaway for you.



It comes packaged in a lovely little handmade box (of recycled materials) tied up with frothy tulle. Just right for gift-giving. It would be a nice gift for yourself, too!



Very few people make horsehair baskets. They are very challenging to make, and there are no published instructions anywhere (but stay tuned, i am writing a book!) Here is your chance to own one, FREE.



There are 5 *five* DIFFERENT ways to enter. Any one or all of these means may be used. You don't need to do them in order. But you must do them exactly as stated. If you do only half of that requirement (for instance tweet, but not post the comment with the link to the tweet here) that entry will not count.

Please make sure that i can get in touch with you in order to notify you, and to send you the prize! Anonymous entries obviously cannot win. The prize will be assigned randomly on June 14, 2009, (Sunday) to one of the entrants, and posted here. I will also tweet the winner.


Ways to Participate:

1. Visit my etsy shop and comment on this blog as to what your favorite item is, and why it is your favorite.
2. Follow this blog, and leave a comment that you followed this blog. (If you already are a follower, just leave a separate comment to that effect...it will count. Thanks for the follow!)
3. Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a comment on the blog with a link to your tweet.
4. Follow me on twitter, and leave a comment on this blog that you are following me. And thanks for the follow, I will follow you back!
5. Blog this giveaway, and come back and comment with a link to your blog (don't forget to link to this giveaway.)

Whew!

Good luck, and thanks so much for participating!
Pamela

Wild Babies and Nurturing

This morning, I was reading this Cookseyville Blogpost about baby hummingbirds. Most people, when they find a wild baby, take the baby home and try to raise it. This is well-intentioned, but usually misguided. Most of the time, wild babies are not abandoned. Usually the parents are nearby, anxiously watching. If the baby is left where it is, would-be rescuers often witness the parent come feed its' baby or lead it to safety. It never ceases to amaze me that most people think they can do a mama animals’ job better than the natural mother. No one can. Some people have heard that the mother doesn’t want them back, because “you touched them.” Think again. I cannot tell you how many times we have found baby squirrels, fallen from the trees during storms. When put in a box, out of reach of dogs, the mama squirrel retrieves them, one by one, every time. The Cookseys made the right choice when they noticed the hummingbird nest was missing. They found the babies, and put them back where the parents could find them. What a lovely story.

I know how that mama hummingbird feels. She can do very well most of the time, thank you very much…but every once in awhile, it is nice to have some good help.

Parenting two special needs children has been a consuming task. Each child’s uniqueness doubles the challenge. Life is an ongoing lesson, we are constantly working to find each child’s path. How to cope with school, peers, sensory issues, medical problems; it changes from day to day, and our collective learning is hard-won. We are a team, working to grow up as best we know how. Each year, as school starts, the question is posed: “Will teachers fight us, or be part of the team?”

Sometimes a teacher feels, in their own wisdom, that they know better how to raise this child than we do. Those are the fighters. Then there are the team players, who work with us to assimilate into the school scene, to find places of safety for learning and growing. Have you heard, "It takes a village to raise a child?" And so it does. But only when we all work towards the same goal.

This school year has been a stellar one. I cannot say enough about the teachers who are on our team. My children have made great strides and gained independence. They are happy and growing in ways that I could only have dreamed of just a few years ago. Right now I am feeling a lot like that mama hummingbird, looking at the Cooksey’s through their window. I am grateful for all the people who have helped me nurture my special children.

I have been making end-of-school gifts for a few weeks. I started with these garden pods awhile ago…and then changed my mind. This year, my teammates will get wearable hummingbird nests, in honor of their nurturing and cooperative nature. I am so grateful for the wonderful job they have done!