Black Ash Baskets: Tips, Tools, & Techniques for Learning the Craft

By Jonathan Kline

Basic skills for making splint baskets from scratch.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Release date: Mar 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9780811744102

Book preview

---

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

History of Black Ash Basket Making

Tools

Finding and Preparing Black Ash

Preparing Materials for Handles and Rims

Basket Weaving Basics

Carving and Attaching Handles and Rims

Projects

PROJECT 1

Square-to-Round

Gathering Basket

PROJECT 2

Square-to-Round

Tabletop Basket

PROJECT 3

Oval Breadbasket

PROJECT 4

Candle Basket

PROJECT 5

Mail Basket

PROJECT 6

Round-Bottom Basket

SUPPLIES AND RESOURCES

---

INTRODUCTION

Igrew up in Hudson, New York, a small city in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Though today the area surrounding the city remains somewhat rural in character, in the 1950s and ’60s, when I was growing up, farms, woodlands, and orchards dominated the terrain. That period also marked the end of a long tradition of basket making practiced by a community living in the outlying hills near the small town of Taghkanic. Though much is unclear about the history of this community, we do know that for at least the previous two hundred years, dozens of families at any one time were a part of this vibrant basket-making community. By the 1960s, however, only one woman continued to make these baskets.

Jonathan Kline in the woods.

Though largely taken for granted for decades, a new appreciation for the beauty and craftsmanship of these baskets began to grow. I became aware of them in the late 1960s, when craft and everything handmade had become my greatest interest. Just a few decades earlier, all of the apple orchards and other farms in the area had kept ample supplies of baskets, as did most households. They were used for laundry, marketing, and gathering. The baskets were not hard to find, but learning how to make them was another story, and that was my goal.

The one surviving basket maker was in poor health, and though quite a few people in the area knew something about the craft, most of the practical knowledge had disappeared. Years passed, and though my fascination and interest in learning the craft remained, opportunities to learn did not arise. While browsing a magazine one day, I came across an article about a basket maker living in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. That person was Newt Washburn, a fourth-generation basket maker of mixed Abenaki and German descent. Like many of the splint basket-making traditions of the Northeast, including the Taghkanics, Newt’s baskets blended the techniques and designs of both the Native Americans and Europeans. Newt Washburn presented an opportunity to learn the craft I hoped, so I decided to contact him. After just one letter and phone call to Newt, he graciously invited me to visit him and spend time learning the craft of basket making.

Kline splitting hickory for making handles.

Now more than thirty years after my trip, I still remember the excitement I felt upon first entering Newt’s workshop. Baskets in various stages of completion filled the room, along with ash strips for weaving and billets for handles. Simple basket-making tools and the wonderful smell of fresh wood completed the picture. I spent several weeks working with Newt, first learning to pound and strip the growth layers from a black ash tree and then processing those strips into material for baskets. I then learned to make baskets in the style that his family, the Switzers, had done for several generations.

When I returned to my home in central New York, I had enough knowledge and skill to begin working on my own. Over the years, I’ve developed my own style and techniques for making baskets, incorporating the strong influences of Newt Washburn, the Taghkanics, the Shakers, and others.

The elemental nature of this craft is something rare in modern life. In a society where most of what we have and what sustains us from day to day comes from sources unknown, making a useful, beautiful object from a tree with simple hand tools is an inspiring act.

Basket making is simple, but it is not easy. Much of the process is demanding, physical work. Many of the skills can only be truly learned by hands-on repetition. When approached with patience and common sense, however, basket making is a skill you can learn. In doing so, you will strengthen your connection to the natural world, as well as to previous generations who depended on such skills and knowledge in their daily lives.

Basketry is perhaps the oldest of crafts and one that has been practiced by every culture worldwide. When we consider the essential necessity to gather, transport, and store basic items, it is easy to see why this skill was developed so early on. There is some evidence that the other very ancient craft, pottery, was derived from basket making. Pottery remnants exist that show the imprint of woven fibers, leading archeologists to believe that baskets were lined with clay, left to dry and harden, and then used for cooking food. Though pottery remnants from thousands of years ago exist in relatively large quantity, such examples of basketry are very rare. The plant fibers from which baskets are made survive the natural decaying process only under very specific environmental conditions, low humidity being the most important. So, even though a great deal is known about the history of basketry in many world cultures, the lack of much physical evidence leaves many gaps in the understanding and speculation of specifics. This is true not only of ancient history, but also of as recently as two hundred years ago.

Most baskets have in common the fact that they are made from plant fibers. In the past, those plants were plentiful and native to the areas where they were being used. Today, this is not necessarily the case. Materials for basket making are available from suppliers all over the world. Fast-growing tropical plants are grown specifically to be processed into basket material, and many materials other than plant fiber are used to weave baskets. Colorful, beautifully woven baskets, for example, are made in Africa from discarded plastic-coated copper electrical wiring. Historically, transport of basket materials from one geographic region to another did occur, but on a limited basis. The famous Nantucket baskets were made by New England whalers, who combined their native white oak with rattan, which they brought back from voyages to the Far East.

The black ash baskets I make, the subject of this book, fall into the larger category of splint basketry. The word splint refers to flat strips of wood. Traditionally, these strips were obtained by either splitting them from a log or, as in the method unique to black