Over the years, I've come to accept the fact that I am a dabbler. Whether it be the fine arts, fiber art, or some blend of the two, I like to bounce my attention between different crafts. This semester, I was taken by surprise with my Fibers class. I'd been under the assumption that it'd have more to do with textiles than anything. The reason I took the class is because I still hadn't dropped my teaching certification and it's a required course to take to become an art teacher in Missouri.
I didn't have a problem with it since I enjoy hands on projects so much. Well, to my grand amusement, we started off with basket weaving! Cool stuff right?!
Originally, I was going to do an individual blog for each basket but, in reality I don't think that I have much to say about each one individually. Ultimately, the whole process is cathartic and particularly entertaining, especially when you keep getting hit with wet reeds.
This first basket was a traditional market shape and it was so fidley! I started liking it a lot more in the later stages, only to realize mine was longer and shorter than everyone else's. There is definitely a certain amount of craft and precision required for this and I didn't have it.
The results were decent in the end though, it can't hold anything too weighty.
Next we were tasked with a melon shaped egg basket (what a mouthful!). I had the most fun with this one because of the organic shaping that it took on. The handle and rim are made from honeysuckle vine from a bush that was over taking my yard. Transporting the materials for this one was fun.
There's never a more amusing exchange when you get into your Lyft with tied up branches. This basket turned out SO much better in my opinion simply because it was more personalized. I really enjoyed how the colors fell together, even though I didn't plan them out that way. Honestly, I just knew that I was required to dye the reeds this time so I got started with the green and yellow. The other colors sort of fell into place as my classmates started experimenting with their colors. I got the vivid orange from one, the black from another, and the olive green dye from yet another.
This one has yet to come home and I've yet to find a purpose for it. In the least, it'll be pretty to look at!
This last basket project we have has been an adventure to say the least. It's given me the most trouble out of all of them because of its fragile nature. I've had weaver reeds to snap on me a few times and though I was going for a birds' nest them with color and shape. I can't help but to be frustrated with the craftsmanship of the thing. Our professor is exploring this project right alongside us so, we're kind of on our own with the finishing steps.
We started off with a ceramic base and I wanted to keep things simple....very simple.
