First Sad Little Basket I Ever Made

                                           

Pine Needle Basketry

Now that I’ve lost half of my audience already, seeing the eyes glaze over of most men when I say those three words, I will attempt to lure my readers into reading this entire essay.  Pine needle basketry is not something I ever gave any thought to, and to be honest, I had never heard of it until I moved south and began to listen to NPR Radio again.  Prior to listening to this program, I had taken a pottery course at the nearby college, and learned about coil pottery.  When I heard about coiled baskets, the two went together in my head.  While throwing pottery can be toxic to the creator, pine needles certain weren’t, and knowing how ubiquitous they were, making something out of the ordinary into the extraordinary was right up my alley.  I began to search the Internet about the origins of coil basketry and found:

Pine needle basketry is one of the oldest crafts known. It dates back some 9000 years.  The Seminole Indians were one of the first tribes to make the pine needle baskets. Employing ancient coiling techniques and long-leaf pine needles, this art form has remained virtually the same for thousands of years. During the era of the Civil War the women made hats of pine needles. What better way to keep tuned to Mother Nature, than to gather fragrant pine needles from her forest floor and sew them into baskets.
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Pine needles are a gift of nature's bounty woven with loving care into small vessels wherein the Native Americans believed their soul rested secure from evil spirits.

Now, after at least 100 baskets, I have learned a few things, and have honed my craft.  Pine needle baskets have a mind of their own.  Sometime when you begin a basket with the intent that it should be a certain shape, the basket will take over and make itself into something entirely different.  The first few times this happened to me, I was taken back, and a little bewildered.  When I tried to force my will, it fought me.  I saved a basket as an example to myself what happens.  This basket is woven beautifully, and it has the shape of a cow pie.  I now have learned to listen to the pull of the basket and we understand each other.  This understanding has connected me to all the basket makers who have gone before me - those wise old women from ages past for whom I am continuing their art.  In this modern day and time, it is good to feel connected.