Basket Making

A version of this was first published in the Visual Arts Toolkit published by Kentucky Educational Television.

Basket making is considered one of the most ancient technologies as well as one of the oldest folk arts. From ancient times, people all over the world have woven baskets to help meet their needs for food, clothing and shelter: gathering seeds, carrying clams, winnowing grain, storing nuts, cooking acorn mush, even making hats. Many cultures used basket weaving techniques for their homes or for temporary shelters. Although baskets are highly functional, even ancient basket makers took the time to make their baskets aesthetically pleasing as well. Diverse cultures used different forms, patterns, and designs to express cultural values as well as for practical reasons.

The four main techniques of the basket making process are plaiting, twining, coiling, and weaving.

Basket making is largely a functional art, but baskets have also been used for recreational and ceremonial purposes.

Baskets are made from the fibers of a variety of plants. In prehistoric times, basket makers usually used plants that grew in the environment of their
homeland. People living in a desert environment had different natural resources than people living in a wetland or artic environment.

As people migrated, they took their basket making traditions with them and adapted them to the new materials they found in their new environments. They often learned new techniques from the native inhabitants, often finding ways to cooperate on a personal level even when there were conflicts between newcomers and natives.

Today, plastic containers and commercially produced baskets have largely replaced hand crafted baskets for purely functional purposes, but baskets are still made and appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. Some contemporary basket makers, like Leonna Waddell, Carole Welch, and Yvonne Grovner, make baskets in a traditional manner to conserve their distinctive cultures. Others, like Clay Burnette and Billie Ruth Sudduth, explore basket making as a highly individualized expressive art form.

High quality handmade baskets are sought after for their decorative appeal as well as their value as collectibles and are an important part of the crafts economy. Consumers are willing to pay the high price commanded by handmade baskets because they recognize the investment of time and skill required to produce a well-made basket.