Weaving her way to the past

Pierce’s work was recently featured in the Freedom of Expression art show as part of the downtown Fourth of July activities, and is on display at Highland Rim Music.

Another surprise on seeing Pierce’s skillfully crafted baskets is finding out she only began basket weaving after taking a two-day class at Fall Creek Falls this February. But Pierce will be quick to tell you she has been involved creating things with her hands since she was a child.

‘I’ve always done crafts,’ Pierce said. ‘I’ve sewn since I was 10 years old. My mother taught me early. I was the fifth child in the family and I always had hand-me-downs, so if I wanted something new, I had to make it.’

And the family tradition hasn’t stopped with Pierce. Her daughter, Ashley Cantrell, is also involved in crafts. In fact, Ashley went along to the class on a lark, but when her mom offered to pay for her to take it as well, another basket weaver was born.

‘My daughter and I read in the Southern Standard about Fall Creek Falls State Park offering this course on basket weaving,’ Pierce said. ‘It was $35 for two days and I thought, that’s within my budget so the two of us went down there. She took her knitting and was going to just sit and watch, but got so into it she ended up taking it too.

You should see the work that she does. She is much better at this than I am.

‘We took the class and the instructors gave us Web sites where you can order the reed,’ Pierce said. ‘So I jumped in, started ordering reed and making baskets.’

Though Pierce has sold some of her work, and plans to continue to do so, she says that is not her main goal.

‘I’ve given away more than I’ve sold,’ Pierce said. ‘They make great presents.’

Like the other crafts she has been involved in, sewing, crocheting, knitting, and an almost lost craft called tatting, which is used to make lace, Pierce says she likes basket making because of its history.

‘It connects me to the past,’ Pierce said. ‘My mother always said I was born 100 years too late, because I’ve always loved old things, anything you do by hand. Used to people couldn’t just go to the store and just buy things, they had to make it if they wanted it.’

Pierce says she is fascinated with the crafts of the past, particularly those that created functional, and beautiful, items.

‘That’s why I took a spoon carving class in Woodbury and learned how to carve spoons,’ Pierce said. ‘So I’ve made several spoons and sold those. I’ve been commissioned to make a cherry one now, so I’ve got to get hold of some cherry wood. I love anything that’s old-timey.’

‘Basket weaving has been around since the beginning of time,’ Pierce added. ‘It came about out of necessity.’

Another aspect of basket weaving that intrigues Pierce is where the materials come from.

‘I order my materials our of North Carolina,’ Pierce said, ‘and they get their reed from Southeast Asia and Indonesia. There’s thousands of different varieties of reed.’

Pierce says she has become so fascinated with the craft she hopes someday to learn how to make the reed herself.

Pierce usually uses commercial patterns to make her baskets, but has designed a few herself, as well as modifying commercial patterns to suit her needs. Pierce says patterns can also be downloaded on the Internet.

Pierce says, if there are no interruptions, she can make a smaller basket in a morning, but larger ones generally take up to a day.

And oddly enough, Pierce says if you take up basket weaving, plan to get wet, because the reed has to be soaked to make it pliable enough to work with.

‘Otherwise it’ll just break off when you bend it,’ Pierce said. ‘So yes, you get wet. There’s a lot of water involved.’

Pierce encourages anyone who is interested in basket making to just go out and do it.

‘Anyone can learn this,’ Pierce said. ‘Just find a class, go take it, get your materials and start weaving. This is an inexpensive hobby, but it’s a very rewarding one. I love looking at these baskets and thinking, ‘I made this.’ That’s one of the best things about this, the satisfaction you get from seeing the finished product.’

Pierce’s work is on display and is available for purchase at Highland Rim Music.