Marine blue drum basket w/ lots of Sweetgrass X's NI (04/06/2009)...

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Marine blue drum basket w/ lots of Sweetgrass X's NICE!

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Marine blue drum basket w/ lots of Sweetgrass X's NICE!

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Sold Date: 04/06/2009
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Advertising

Lisa Demolet has been Clara Keezer's apprentice for a least two years and is a distant relative. Lisa uses a Passamaquoddy sweetgrass X braid design over 5 wider bands of the most beautiful blue - a great marine blue - ash splint to create a very delicate lacy look design

Lisa's mentor. Clara Keezer, Passamaquoddy basketmaker was a winner of a NEA 2002 Heritage Fellowship award for her basketry work. According to the NEA website, this award is "the country's highest honor in the folk and traditional art" -... and includes all folk arts and crafts including but not limited to - music, dance, performance art and traditional crafts and arts.

This basket is made of brown ash splints, the traditional material of Maine and Eastern Canadian basketmakers, Lisa adds plain tidal sweetgrass on the rim of lid and adds very very tightly and finely braided sweetgrass to a very lovely X design pattern. This is grass found in the tidal marshes near the Pleasant Point home of the Lisa and the Keezer family. This basket has been signed and dated by Lisa and includes a Passamaquoddy signed card as shown in the slideshow. The basket is 4" in diameter and 3.75" high with the "Keezer" bow ribbon handle adding another 1/2" to the height. This is a "Drum style" basket - a round basket with straight sides. Lisa has a very delicate touch with her baskets. She is fast becoming very skilled and is developing her own variations in her work. Clara Keezer has had many apprentices, most for a very short time. Clara is too talented to spend time with anyone not committed enough or with enough skills to make excellent baskets. The fact that Clara has worked with Lisa Demolet for such a long time is enough to tell me that Lisa is a basketmaker to watch in the future. Be sure to view the slideshow to see more pics of this basket

The slideshow also includes a picture of Clara and her sons Kenny and Rocky taken during my October 2006 "Basketmakers of the Dawn" Tour. I apologize to you and to Lisa for not having her picture. I can't believe I failed to snap a pic of her on any of the occasions I have seen her. Sorry -Hope to get one of her in mid-December

Would you be interested in meeting Clara, and sons Rocky and Kenny along with many of the best working Maine Indian basketmakers? email me about my spring or fall 2008 "Basketmakers of the Dawn" tours - We will also be visiting Maine museums and viewing private collections of antique Maine/Eastern Canadian baskets? .