plumb basket
july 2021 - white ash & odies oil
photos by Carolyn Mccabe
The basket is made of nine pieces of ash wood that were steam-bent and coopered (joined together at an angle) to form a vessel-like basket that will spin and sway but always remain upright.
process
The Plumb Basket is the product of an intensive, two-week workshop at Penland School of Craft led by Artists Yuri Kobayashi and Chelsea Witt. The course covered many ways to create curvature with wood. I designed this basket to incorporate two of the methods we learned, steam-bending and coopering. After the pieces were joined together, it was sculpted to reveal a smooth, flowing form that asks to be touched, turned and carried. Since long grain is maintained throughout, it is remarkably strong for its weight.
