How to Coil a Basket Using Materials Found in Nature with Elizabeth Whyte Schulze

A Becket Athenaeum Big Read Program

Learn to coil a basket using pine needles from Florida and hand dyed raffia. Coiling is one of the oldest basketry techniques and was used by several tribes in the American Southwest. We will be using pine needles for the core and raffia to bind and stitch the rows of the basket. As the basket develops, we will add some color and create a design with our stitches, This class will be fun for all skill levels.

Elizabeth Whyte Schulze

For over a decade, Elizabeth’s fiber art has been informed by her travels. Visiting petroglyph sites in the American Southwest to an Aboriginal Art Center in Australia’s outback, each destination is an opportunity to experience art and culture of diverse communities. On her baskets, she layers images by intersecting and overlapping figure, design and text. Her approach to working on the basket is to present a complex landscape of imagery that is visually challenging and personally satisfying. Elizabeth's work is represented by Mobilia Gallery in Cambridge, MA. She is the recipient of the 2009 Artist Fellowship of Massachusetts. Her work is in the permanent collections of the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh, RAM in Racine, WI , American Embassy, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Africa and in numerous private collections throughout the US.