Basket c. 1900 - 1915

This basket was woven by a Tlingit artist, but we don't know when. Imagine her hands, the quiet, rhythmic movements, the pull and give of the materials. Look closely at the geometric patterns, the triangles pointing inwards, framed by horizontal bands in shades of red and brown. I imagine the artist contemplating the weight, balance, and structure of the form. How does she create a sense of depth and texture, building up the surface bit by bit? The more you look at the basket, the more you feel the artist considering how all these elements work together, each mark informing the next, with the whole gradually evolving. Isn’t that how we all work, artists and craftspeople? We’re constantly responding to each other across generations. It’s a conversation, a kind of call and response. There’s not a right or wrong way, but the piece becomes a question that’s always open for interpretation.