It was hard for me to choose
a personal project because there were several things I was
interested in. I decided on a birch bark basket because I
knew I could get the materials in Canada and I would have a great
excuse for sitting in the sun! (I have not found any research
that says one should make baskets in the warm sunshine by a lake,
but it made perfect sense to me) Also, I had been given one
as a gift and it has always been one of my favorites.
Creating a basket was a way
for me to relate to the way Native Americans made use of natural
fibers. Using the bark of a tree to produce a useful form was
a delightful experience. I enjoyed exploring the Canadian
bush looking for birch trees and sitting by the lake in the warm
sunshine creating my baskets. I used pictures, on-line
resources, and directions provided in books as guidelines. My
inspiration came from seeing the wide variety of baskets in museums
and cultural centers and researching Native American baskets on the
web. I tried to recreate what I saw and add my personality to
each basket.
Please click on the following
slideshow for step-by-step pictures
Birch Bark Basket
Resources
