Kj's Pine Needle Basketry

Pine Needle Basketry

When the Ponderosa Pines of the Sierra Nevada Mountains shed some of their long needles every Fall the forest floor is carpeted with basket making material. After the needles are soaked in water for a couple of hours they are pliable and ready to be coiled and stitched into shapes. I use raffia to stitch my baskets and to weave the teneriffe design seen in some of the lids.

Other than long lasting, practical beauty, my favorite thing about the baskets is the spiral created by the stitching. The spiral can be found over and over in nature. A sea shell, our galaxy and the way the seeds in a big sunflower are arranged all have the mesmerizing spiral. I love how it draws the eye in only to throw it out over the piece again.

No two baskets are ever alike. Most of the needles I use are left in their natural Mother nature given color. When I dye them I use Indigo Blue, Wine Red, Dark Green,Tangerine liquid Rit dye.

Collectors, look in the bottom of each basket to see the blue moon symbol that says it was made by the artist Kj.