Post from Facebook Basket Weavers s

This is a post from a Native American that was on my Facebook wall today. I know most of us work exclusively with reed, but I thought the comment was just interesting- the thought that the materials were once alive and still have spirit. Out of all the dozens of baskets I have woven I have only had one "spiritual moment" while weaving; where everything was just right, my mind was totally relaxed, living in the present, and the basket almost wove itself. It was during Jane's Twill Cat's Head class, and that little basket is still one of my favorites.  I recall Shirley Rabenhorst was sitting behind me. The baskets may or may not have "spirits", but the weaving of them sure hold special memories.

Posted by Nick Dillingham on Facebook Basket Weavers;basketry, gourd weaving & more! 6/12/2014

"A lesson I was shown by the elders; 
Depending on the weaving material, staining, painting, or sealing is possibly the worst thing you can do to a basket. The splints need to be able to absorb the moisture and breathe, it's a living thing changing with the weather, humidity, heat, and cold, you can hear them talk in the sounds the splints make when conditions change. It's the difference between a basket becoming brittle over time and one that lasts a century or so. Natural dyes are best to use if your coloring splints, it's an old tradition to place your baskets is the spring rain every year, they get clean, become supple again, and are recharged."

From Nick Dillingham's Facebook Page