The prolonged emergence of Hudson Valley springtime makes the days of lush greenery and full branched trees feel far away, but for Katie Grove, basketry teacher, artist, and author of the soon-to-be released Weaving Wild Baskets (Storey Publishing), the outdoors are already alive with materials and possibility. “There’s always something to harvest. Now is a great time to harvest vines,” she suggests, “it’s a seasonal practice. You watch them all year, and wait for the magic moment when the plant is reaching the end of its life or going dormant.”
Wild basketry is year-round craftwork, from foraging to weaving. The traditional practice is built on a cultivated awareness of what’s happening in your own backyard. “To me, wild basketry is the process of developing a relationship with what’s growing around you,” Grove says, “it starts with awareness.” Weaving Wild Baskets elaborates on the basket creation process with a focus of mindfulness, relating the meditative act of processing fiber and twisting cordage to a “balm for a fast-paced world.”
With step-by-step instructions for mastering a multitude of pieces from—the coiled bowl or a two-hoop harvest basket to a bark necklace pouch or tool sheath—Grove’s guide provides ample illustrations of proper hand placement and weaving patterns to ensure a stress-free introduction to the practice. “Coiling and twining can be great places for beginners to start.” Grove suggests, “Each technique has its strengths and I tend to focus on one or the other depending on the project or what kind of mood I’m in. I love working with folded bark because it invites my creative side out, but if I’m in the mood to do something meditative, I’ll turn to coiling.”
In addition to basketry, Grove specializes in sculpture, utilizing foraged raw materials from white oak splits and logs to more unconventional natural elements like feathers and seeds, which Grove refers to as “little treasures.” With a fine art background, Grove uses components of her artistic training to shape the baskets for purposes based in both practicality and beauty. “There’s a sculptural element to basketry that is important to recognize,” Grove comments. To quote a passage from her book: “There isn’t a formulaic step-by-step process for weaving a diagonal plaited basket.” What’s most important, she notes, “is understanding how your movements affect the basket.”
With so many possibilities, it’s important to determine the qualities each desired basket should have as you start to plan your project. Grove gives examples of questions she asks herself at the commencement of a new piece. “How strong do I want the basket to be? How flexible? Should it be tightly woven and precise, or open weave to allow airflow? These questions help me decide what technique to use.” While looping works well with softer fibers to create bags and pouches, more sturdy pieces such as a laundry basket require wicker work with woody stems or thicker vines.
Selecting the right materials is foundational in basketry, and the first step is foraging these plants at the right time. Grove equips readers with a seasonal foraging calendar, outlining optimal foraging times for various vines, barks, and woody stems. “It’s always important to observe the plants, to not only harvest when their length will be perfect for a basket, but also for the plant’s wellbeing. It’s our responsibility to leave the natural world as we found it,” explains Grove, adding that she utilizes a foraging journal to record her harvest in detail, outlining everything from the date and location of harvest to the quantity and quality of the yield, even notating the weather. “I have journals that are six or seven years old,” she adds. “I get the journal out every year to review my notes. Maybe the bark wasn’t peeling well when I harvested it in early June, I can try later in the month for better results. I even make notes while I’m weaving, deciphering which barks or vines didn’t perform so well.”
This level of detailed knowledge and awareness may come across as intimidating to some. Looking outside, less experienced naturalists may find themselves staring at a “wall of green,” a term Grove uses to illustrate the feeling of overwhelm experienced by those who are just starting their practice in foraging. At the time of our conversation, Grove is in Costa Rica, laughing that she herself is experiencing a wall of green. “It’s a new country, there’s an earnestness of wanting to know all the plants and it’s hard to slow down, but that’s my lesson. I can only learn one thing at a time. It’s important to remember that you’re not doing a bad job if you’re doing it slowly, even if it takes years. It’s a skill, and like anything, it takes practice.”
Grove compares learning the craft of wild basketry to starting a new relationship with a neighbor or a friend. “It takes time and baby steps,” she says. “If you have an abundant type of grass growing in your yard, go sit in it. Knowing the plant’s name is helpful, but it shouldn’t be a boundary.” Weaving Wild Baskets seeks to familiarize even the most novice enthusiasts, categorizing plants using easy-to-understand distinguishers such as “Leaves, Grasses, and Soft Stems,” “Bark,” and “Vines,” further breaking down common “basketry superstars” and their corresponding uses, identification features and preparation instructions to aid even the most inexperienced aspiring artist in a successful endeavor.
No backyard? No problem. “Sometimes it’s even better that way,” Grove says. “The world can be your foraging garden. Tell everyone you know, ask if you can forage in their yard. It builds community and connects us.” Another alternative? Start a basketry garden. “It’s instant gratification,” Grove says with a laugh. “There’s so much you can transplant and harvest right away like daffodils, day lilies with long leaves, yucca, and ornamental grasses like zebra grass.” Her guide breaks down several cultivated basketry garden favorites, with the added reminder to be mindful of particular location and hardiness zone.
Along with thoroughly referencing the best plants for the craft, Weaving Wild Baskets outlines the suggested tool kit for foraging and basketmaking, providing visual examples of each along with their associated uses. The guide offers tips for material storage and rehydration, and places emphasis throughout on ethical and respectful foraging. “You should be looking at the plant and using your scientific mind to observe it. Is there only one of this type of tree in the forest?” suggests Grove, a question she often asks herself before harvesting. “If so, we don’t want to cut this one tree. It would eliminate its chance to reproduce, to spread.”
Grove’s mindfulness toward the natural environment sprouted from years of embracing both the outdoors and the love of sharing it. She describes her home studio in Stone Ridge as “out in the woods,” hosting workshops in her garage for up to a dozen students at a time. “I’m constantly working on continuing my craft, adjusting it and sharing it.” Grove expresses. Weaving Wild Baskets offers techniques that are widely used around the world. “These tools and techniques for basketry are universally ubiquitous, and there’s definitely a resurgence of the artform,” she adds.
A basket weaving launch party for Weaving Wild Baskets is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 from 2-5pm at The Living Room at Full Circle Commons in Gardiner.
