Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Basket.
Hi Nancy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always loved being outside, collecting interesting mud dobber nests, looking at paper wasp constructions, or cleaning old chicken coops for playing in with friends. Making something out of nothing became a lifelong pursuit. It shaped my way of thinking and relating to the world. My friend, Judy Arledge, introduced me to Pine Needle basketry as an adult. That wove my love of nature into living vessels that changed my life. I helped start the first basketry guild in the United States in modern times, the Vi Phillips Northwest Basketweavers Guild, now located in Seattle, Washington. The organization celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. I was the first president and am the only surviving founding member. We started meeting about 1979. I moved to SC to be closer to Long Leaf Pine trees and to learn from Cherokee elders. I’ve taught basketry and paper making in public schools since 1989. Kudzu, a fast-growing ‘weed,’ caught my attention as a free inexhaustible source of paper using the leaves and vines for baskets. It splits easily and can be coiled or woven into many forms. Students learned Native American stories, culture, and lifeways while creating a bird’s nest that held four jelly bean eggs at the end of four days. Or they made paper murals, quilts, or other designs from the plant said to have eaten the South. Kudzu does grow a foot a day from about May to the first frost in late October or November.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Adapting to whatever environment is around you and making something beautiful from what you find is a lifeway, not a paved road to success. However, you define that word. My six kids say, “You are not famous until you are rich, Mom. You are just well known.” Plants no one else wants or likes have supported my family for decades. Turning around perceptions of how we speak of plants or people has always been a goal of mine. Trying something new might not always work the way you intended. So? You know one more thing about what you love. Now go in a different direction. Use broom sedge for students when you can’t get Kudzu in that part of the state. Or fashion cattails into baskets when in the Low Country. Listen to what the plants tell you. Kudzu said, “Leave the trees alone; use us for paper instead..” I said, paper? I’m a basket maker! But when teaching an entire rural private school art with no supplies or funds, start with what you have around you. A young boy asked if he could use a fishing line instead of raffia. Another young person asked if she could use kite string for the coil. Yes! We need youthful enthusiasm to keep old traditions alive and to adapt to more modern ones.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make baskets from many different natural materials. They can be as small as my thumbnail, miniatures where 1”=1’, or 8’ x 8’ creatures telling Cherokee stories of the Uhktena, a dragon-like beast, or the Thunderbird. They hang from the 10’ ceiling in my gallery. 5’ Chandeliers might fit more into homes or restaurants. They can be Freeform kudzu that imitates the African Weaver Bird or woven over an armature of grapevines. Smaller lamp shades are woven over metal forms.
The barn in my backyard had a serious lean more than 25 years ago when I moved to Walhalla. Friends helped me jack it back up, make wood floors in levels down a sloping dirt floor, and wire and plumb it for electricity and water. Other friends brought bales of kudzu that were wired onto the studs becoming the barn walls. They were plastered with masonry sand and a lime and water solution. It has a wood stove for heat and a portable AC unit for workshops or Garden club meetings.
My Kudzu bale barn is where I make paper for the 300 different 5” x 7” folk art designs sold in several galleries and here in my shop/home. As a juried artist in the Vacation With An Artist program, people worldwide can come to make paper and baskets with me for a few days. Bringing together varied communities, celebrating our stories, laughing, and eating together makes life wondrous! Leaving behind skills that last another generation is essential. Working with my Catawba friends and renewing traditions is a privilege.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
If you are in my neck of the woods, call to let me know. I’m open from 10 am to 4 pm most days. Unless I’m telling stories at a powwow, residency, or teaching somewhere, see what you can do with what’s growing around you wherever you live or arrange for a few friends to have a workshop in the Kudzu bale barn.
Contact Info:
- Website: Nancybasket.com
- Facebook: Nancy Basket’s Kudzu Kabin
