The braided ash detail of a Jeremy Frey creation. Black Ash Basketry Students will Learn how to make a black ash basket, start to finish. ADA TOWNSHIP -- Rachel Swem conceded it's … “Each handle is kind of unique for the basket,” Sockbeson said. Tools Each basketry kit contains clearly written instructions and all of the parts required to make the basket (black ash splint stakes and weavers, rims, handles, etc). Bravo to the success of the Maine Indian Basket Makers Alliance. The basket he made, and I got, is so beautiful, however, that I can’t bring myself to use it outside for foraging - so I keep it inside and use it for a mail basket. The emerald ash borer has now been found in two dozen states, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and two Canadian provinces. “I like the vibrant colors and I like the modern look on something that’s really traditional and natural.”. Photo courtesy of Theresa Secord. The first part of the class will be spent preparing black ash splint for your basket by pounding a locally harvested log. The black ash pack basket: it's beautiful, highly functional and can be made using simple materials. All Rights Reserved. Jennifer Neptune, a Penobscot basketmaker and the executive director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, said the tribes have a “special relationship” to the black ash. George Neptune, a Passamaquoddy basketmaker and the museum educator at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, said he’s turning his baskets into sculptures. The documentary explores the Anishinabe art of making baskets from the black ash tree, a tradition now threatened by the invasive emerald ash borer.A story of family, the connectedness of life, the value of traditions, hope for the future, and a spirit of resilience in the face of change is told through the voices of local Native elders and basket makers. But in the late twentieth century, the popularity of Wabanaki ash basketry waned. Course Overview. But Clark said the more avant garde basketry is drawing in new collectors who wouldn’t have been there based on the previous styles. Photo courtesy of Abby Museum, Bar Harbor, Maine. This year, five tribal basketmakers from Maine competed in the juried show at Santa Fe. Black ash, Fraxinus nigra, grows in cedar swamps in the Great Lakes region, Northeastern United States, and Eastern Canada.It has compound leaves, rough grey bark, and a somewhat stubby branching pattern. Is lemon oil OK to use? They’re displayed in museums, including the Smithsonian, and in galleries and collections around the country. Because black ash exists in pockets rather than scattered throughout the landscape, “some people are hopeful emerald ash borer may not spread as fast in Maine. Many of the designs go back to the early 2000’s and to this day, are still too popular to retire. While black ash splints and sweetgrass are staple materials, more artisans are experimenting with others, including birch bark and the soft inner bark of the eastern white-cedar, both of which were once primary weaving materials. “The irony is that we’ve kind of broken into the art market scene nationally, and now we’re threatened with emerald ash borer that could destroy our resource,” said Neptune. Basket Making Workshops; Choose from 8 baskets during these one-day and two-day workshops with master black ash weaver Alice Ogden of Salisbury, New Hampshire. © 2014 by the author; this article may not be copied or reproduced without the author's consent. If not, what can I put on the basket to nourish and preserve the wood? Photo courtesy of Theresa Secord. For Jeremy Frey, of Maine’s Passamaquoddy Indian tribe, weaving ash baskets is a family tradition. Jennifer Neptune, a Penobscot basketmaker and the executive director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, said the tribes have a “special relationship” to the black ash. By the early 1990s, there were only about 30 active Indian basketmakers in Maine, and their average age was 63. Home > Black Ash Splint. A brown ash “work basket” (this one for potatoes) by Richard Silliboy. Presented by Kalamazoo Institute of Arts at Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo MI, The documentary explores the Anishinabe art of making baskets from the black ash tree, a tradition now threatened by the invasive emerald ash borer. I have used Maine Indian ash baskets for many years, primarily for gathering edible wild plants and mushrooms. "Black Ash Basketry: A Story of Cultural Resilience" is a documentary focusing on the effect of the emerald ash borer on Michigan ecology. “I have pieces by many, many basketmakers,” she said. Feb 16, 2020 - Explore Ann Mitchell's board "Dream Weaver Basketry", followed by 245 people on Pinterest. Processing wood into fine weaving materials is a time consuming endeavor. As a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, she lives on the very south east corner of the Bad River Reservation in Northern Wisconsin. The Native Nations in these areas, which include the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Wabenaki, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee, have woven baskets from the black ash tree for thousands of years. Email Us Or Call: Indigenous Expressions Film Series: Ash to Baskets - YouTube They saw what wealthy collectors wanted and tried to incorporate those style elements into their work. Ash baskets paid for people to go to school, paid for clothes, paid for food. ARTbreak is a weekly program about art, artists and exhibitions. Connect with this Organization: DONATE. Gabriel Frey, a Passamaquoddy, weaves a basket handle. If I’m experimenting, I’ll usually do one and see what kind of reaction it gets. ↑ top Donations welcome. Note: Look for a lecture on black ash basketry on August 24 by local experts John and Johnny Pigeon of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Today, basketmakers are experimenting with new forms, finishes, and materials; they’re looking to other arts for inspiration, as well as back into the tribes’ basketry tradition to incorporate older techniques. Black Ash is unique among all trees in North America in that it does not have fibers connecting the growth rings to each other. “We have a deep, profound, and spiritual relationship with this tree, and we feel we have a responsibility to do what we can to save it,” said Neptune. Connor Zautke, 11, weaves a black ash basket as Kitt Pigeon, left, offers instruction and a cameraman documents the moment. But there’s no doubt that the eastern woodland Indians took advantage of natural materials found in the woods – ash splints, sweetgrass, birch bark, spruce roots, or cedar bark – to make strong and beautiful baskets. Hello! She also became keenly aware that her ancestors were there to show her the way. Category Products. The Basket Maker's Tree. I’ve heard that linseed oil will turn the basket black with time. Be the first to add a review/comment , and let folks know what you think! Thanks for this great article. But the basket sold for $20,000 – before the sale even officially opened. That is not traditional. The group began putting on workshops for kids and created an apprenticeship program that paid master basketmakers to mentor younger generations. Philomene Saulis Nelson sells her baskets on Indian Island, Maine, circa 1940. His creations routinely fetch thousands of dollars. Instructor: Ian Andrus. Photo courtesy of Abby Museum, Bar Harbor, Maine. His grandmother also wove baskets. ARTbreak: Black Ash Basketry: A Story of Cultural Resilience. “Fancy baskets fed into a Victorian-era fascination with ‘exotic’ peoples, and the basketmakers were pretty savvy. (In New Hampshire, the trees are called brown ash and in other regions of New England they are called black ash.) Our family harvests and processes all of our materials from the woods and forests of Michigan. About Black Ash Baskets. A very enjoyable article. How he comes up with designs, spends hours upon hours hand-weaving to get a particular look, incorporating porcupine quills, perhaps, or sweetgrass. Great-granddaughter Theresa Secord continues the family tradition. She then strips the layers, each representing one annual growth ring, off the log. “You’re selling the purity of it. It’s there where the black ash basket maker gets her own materials from a nearby swamp. P.O. The revitalized basketry tradition has spawned a burst of creativity. This is just the evolution of that.”, Neptune said much of the experimentation today is by younger weavers, though traditionally, Indian basketmakers have been an innovative lot. In this episode I follow Jamin for a few days as he journeys from tree to pack basket using the incredible flexible and versatile wood of the black ash tree. He learned to create baskets from his mother when he was 22. A couple years ago, my mom (who grew up in Bangor) asked Richard Silliboy if he would make a “work” basket for my birthday,. This past August, he won best-of-show in the basketry division at Santa Fe. Steve and I are one of the few, if not the only, non-Native husband and wife team who involved with each step of turning a black ash tree into a basket. “When you teach people, they’re more likely to appreciate it,” said Frey. A story of family, the connectedness of life, the value of traditions, hope for the future, and a spirit of resilience in the face of change is told through the voices of local Native elders and basket makers.

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