Meet 'First Born'...

'First Born'

Inside View of 'First Born'

Bottom View of 'First Born'

Meet 'First Born'! This is my first attempt at hand-coiled and stitched fabric-wrapped basketry. In late 1994, my husband and I had just married and moved into the new home we'd built. We were both employed at First Chicago Bank and had poured most of our hard-earned savings into the building of our new home, so I didn't have a lot of money to purchase fabrics, threads or any of the materials needed to create the basketry. So, I had to get creative from the very beginning of the basketry journey. My sister had given me a beautiful, multi-colored blazer jacket and turquoise colored blouse that she no longer wanted, and the colors were so vivid and beautiful. I decided to use them for my first coiled creation. The cardboard that I used to create the bases was another thing that was free because I never discarded any cardboard boxes that came into our house. These were the materials I needed to create my very first fabric-wrapped creation - 'FIRST BORN'! Of course, I couldn't tell my sister that I was going to cut up the beautiful items that she'd gifted me, so I kept that secret to myself for a while.

Now, keep in mind that I didn't know a thing about coiling and stitching, or wrapping, or making bases or what material I should use to wrap the fabric over to form a tight, fabric-wrapped rope that could be coiled into the body of a beautiful creation. I didn't know what size the stitching should be, or how far apart to space the stitches. I didn't know that all knots should be hidden on the inside of the vessel. I didn't know that there was an easier way to create a base for my project, so I took the uncharted path, using the thinnest raffia twists that I could find, and painstakingly wrapped it with thread and yarn...and then coiled and stitched that into a base! I'm amazed every time I look at it - even now! I didn't know that rope would yield a stronger, more permanent coiled vessel, so I used paper raffia to wrap the fabric over to form a fabric-wrapped rope for coiling the body of the vessel...I didn't know WHAT I was doing! I just started the process and was determined to see if I could make a vessel...and Determination won! So, this was the beginning of the “Trial and Error” phase of my creative journey, because...I KNEW NOTHING! 'First Born' launched my journey into the world of hand-coiled and stitched fabric-wrapped basketry. And from that creation was born a passion for color and form, and a kind of patience that I never knew I possessed - the kind of patience I like to call, "Pit Bull Tenacity”.

What is “Pit Bull Tenacity”?

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