Rush Basketry

Step-by-step instructions for more than 40 projects.

An in-depth, illustrated history of South Carolina's Lowcountry baskets Coiled grass baskets are icons of Gullah culture. From their roots in Africa, through their evolution on Lowcountry rice plantations, to their modern appreciation as art objects sought by collectors and tourists, these vessels are carriers of African American history and the African-inspired culture that took hold along the coast of South Carolina and neighboring states. Row Upon Row, the first comprehensive history of this folk art, remains a classic in the field. The fourth edition brings the narrative into the twenty-first century, with a chapter describing current challenges to the survival of the time-honored tradition. The artform continues to adapt to the changing consumer market, the availability of materials, economic opportunities, and most recently, the widening of the highway near the majority of basket stands. As globalization transforms the world, the coiled basket in all its iterations retains its power as a local symbol of individual identity and cultural distinction. A preface is provided by Jane Przybysz, executive director of the McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina.

Everyone will become a nature lover by creating baskets and other projects with things found in the woods, parks, and fields.

For centuries people have marveled over the beauty of plaited basketry; now readers can actually learn the skill and artistry of this craft in the comfort of their own homes. Scholar, artisan, and teacher Vladimir Yarish created all of the birch bark baskets for this book after scouring museums and archeological sites all around the world. This definitive guide focuses on the history and myriad traditional uses of birch bark, as well as general instructions for basket-making and plaiting. Get hands-on with 18 birch bark projects, both decorative and useful, including a rectangular tray, small basket with three-part braid, or an oval basket with curls. Finally, in the gallery section, take a look at plaited baskets by various artists using contemporary materials.

This easy, accessible, and fun approach to basket making offers instructions for 18 beautiful and useful baskets. Beginning with simple basket designs and progressing to more-advanced techniques, you build new skills with each project. Follow along from one to the next, or jump ahead to the more advanced baskets to expand your intermediate skills. The practical projects include a market basket, square-to-round storage basket, spiral twill basket, catch-all bathroom basket, cat-head bowl, and many others. Instructions for adding embellishments, color, and shaping are included to help new basketmakers turn a project into a personal treasure. A chart for designing your own market baskets in six different sizes is invaluable, and photos of work by today's top basketmakers serve as inspiration. This book is the ideal guide for anyone interested in learning to make handbuilt baskets.

This book documents an archaeological collection of plant-fibre artifacts from Hesquiat Harbour, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of technological characteristics highlight the remarkable skill and artistic accomplishments of the Nuu-chah-nulth people during the 19th century. Kathryn Bernick examines cedar-bark baskets and mats, several types of cordage (ropes and cords), and fragmentary remains of rush mats and cedar-bark robes. Her in-depth analysis is an important new contribution to the study of traditional Northwest Coast material culture and will be of special interest to basket makers, anthropologists, archaeologists and museum curators.