Irish Potato Basket

Katherine Lewis, Irish Potato Basket, 2011, willow, 3 ¹⁄₄ x 25 in. diam. (8.3 x 63.6 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole, 2011.47.40

Artwork Details

Title: Irish Potato Basket
Artist: Katherine Lewis
Date: 2011
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 3 ¹⁄₄ x 25 in. diam. (8.3 x 63.6 cm) irregular
Credit Line: Gift of Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole
Mediums: willow
Mediums Description: willow
Classifications: Decorative Arts
Fiber
Object Number: 2011.47.40
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2011.47.40

Artwork Description

Lewis has been weaving for thirty years and specializes in European basketry techniques. Though intended as a decorative piece, her Irish Potato Basket draws from traditional “skib” or “ciseog” baskets used to strain and serve boiled potatoes. While many of these baskets have different center patterns, she used a grid or “window” center. Lewis and her husband also grow nearly sixty varieties of basketry willow on their small farm in the Pacific Northwest.

Works by this artist (2 items)

Artist

color lithograph

Artist

Date2001

silk-screened formed acrylic

Related Books

A Measure of the Earth

A Measure of the Earth provides an window into the traditional basketry revival of the past fifty years. Nicholas Bell’s essay details the longstanding use of traditional fibers, such as black ash, white oak, willow, and sweetgrass and the perseverance of a select few to harvest these elements—the land itself—for the enrichment of daily life. Drawing on conversations with basketmakers from across the country and reproducing many of their documentary photographs, Bell offers an intimate glimpse of their lifeways, motivations, and hopes. Lavish illustrations of every basket in the exhibition convey the humble, tactile beauty of these functional vessels.