American baskets made by people in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and their surroundings are lovingly shared with the readers by a man who knows and respects their heritage. Indian baskets, especially Cherokee, also are included. Numerous photos detail every step in the basket making process, from the time the tree is cut until the time the basket is completed.

There is nothing like the satisfaction of owning a beautiful handmade basket. They brighten any room, are useful around any home, and make cherished heirloom gifts. This magnificent collection of over 30 baskets draws on the long, rich tradition of basketmaking and uses a variety of fascinating techniques and easy-to-find materials. In a matter of hours, you can proudly produce a handsome basket that will be admired for generations to come. You'll appreciate the step-by-step instructions, including over 400 illustrations, colorful full-page photos and helpful hints and suggestions. Gorgeous watercolors of baskets are interspersed throughout, making this book as beautiful as it is useful. Book jacket.

The peoples of northwestern Califonia's Lower Klamath River area have long been known for their fine basketry. Two early-twentieth-century weavers of that region, Elizabeth Hickox and her daughter Louise, created especially distinctive baskets that are celebrated today for their elaboration of technique, form, and surface designs. Marvin Cohodas now explores the various forces that influenced Elizabeth Hickox, analyzing her relationship with the curio trade, and specifically with dealer Grace Nicholson, to show how those associations affected the development and marketing of baskets. He explains the techniques and patterns that Hickox created to meet the challenge of weaving design into changig three-dimensional forms. In addition to explicating the Hickoxes' basketry, Cohodas interprets its uniqueness as a form of intersocietal art, showing how Elizabeth first designed her distinctive trinket basket to convey a particular view of the curio trade and its effect on status within her community. Through its close examination of these superb practitioners of basketry, Basket Weavers for the California Curio Trade addresses many of today's most pressing questions in Native American art studies concerning individuality, patronage, and issues of authenticity. Graced with historic photographs and full-color plates, it reveals the challenges faced by early-twentieth-century Native weavers. "Extremely well written and based on an impressive amount of archival research. . . . It skillfully interweaves biography, rigorous stylistic analysis, and social history into an impressive story."--Janet Berlo, editor, The Early Years of Native American Art History Published with the assistance of The Southwest Museum, Los Angeles.

"With the inborn wisdom that has guided them for so long through so many obstacles, Hopi men and women perpetuate their proven rituals, strongly encouraging those who attempt to neglect or disrespect their obligations to uphold them. One of these obligations is to respect the flora and fauna of our planet. The Hopi closeness to the Earth is represented in all the arts of all three mesas, whether in clay or natural fibers. What clay is to a potter's hands, natural fibers are to a basket weaver."--from the Introduction Rising dramatically from the desert floor, Arizona's windswept mesas have been home to the Hopis for hundreds of years. A people known for protecting their privacy, these Native Americans also have a long and less known tradition of weaving baskets and plaques. Generations of Hopi weavers have passed down knowledge of techniques and materials from the plant world around them, from mother to daughter, granddaughter, or niece. This book is filled with photographs and detailed descriptions of their beautiful baskets--the one art, above all others, that creates the strongest social bonds in Hopi life. In these pages, weavers open their lives to the outside world as a means of sharing an art form especially demanding of time and talent. The reader learns how plant materials are gathered in canyons and creek bottoms, close to home and far away. The long, painstaking process of preparation and dying is followed step by step. Then, using techniques of coiled, plaited, or wicker basketry, the weaving begins. Underlying the stories of baskets and their weavers is a rare glimpse of what is called "the Hopi Way," a life philosophy that has strengthened and sustained the Hopi people through centuries of change. Many other glimpses of the Hopi world are also shared by author and photographer Helga Teiwes, who was warmly invited into the homes of her collaborators. Their permission and the permission of the Cultural Preservation Office of the Hopi Tribe gave her access to people and information seldom available to outsiders. Teiwes was also granted access to some of the ceremonial observances where baskets are preeminent. Woven in brilliant reds, greens, and yellows as well as black and white, Hopi weavings, then, not only are an arresting art form but also are highly symbolic of what is most important in Hopi life. In the women's basket dance, for example, woven plaques commemorate and honor the Earth and the perpetuation of life. Other plaques play a role in the complicated web of Hopi social obligation and reciprocity. Living in a landscape of almost surreal form and color, Hopi weavers are carrying on one of the oldest arts traditions in the world. Their stories in Hopi Basket Weaving will appeal to collectors, artists and craftspeople, and anyone with an interest in Native American studies, especially Native American arts. For the traveler or general reader, the book is an invitation to enter a little-known world and to learn more about an art form steeped in meaning and stunning in its beauty.

A narrative of David Burckhalter's years among the Seri Indians of northern Mexico. The Seri are known for their unique baskets, wood carvings, necklaces, and turtle hunting. David Burckhalter's photographs, in black-and-white and color, are an addition to his portrait of life among the Seri.

This easy, accessible, and fun approach to basket making offers instructions for 18 beautiful and useful baskets. Beginning with simple basket designs and progressing to more-advanced techniques, you build new skills with each project. Follow along from one to the next, or jump ahead to the more advanced baskets to expand your intermediate skills. The practical projects include a market basket, square-to-round storage basket, spiral twill basket, catch-all bathroom basket, cat-head bowl, and many others. Instructions for adding embellishments, color, and shaping are included to help new basketmakers turn a project into a personal treasure. A chart for designing your own market baskets in six different sizes is invaluable, and photos of work by today's top basketmakers serve as inspiration. This book is the ideal guide for anyone interested in learning to make handbuilt baskets.