Mary Smith

Mary’s first exposure to basket weaving was in 2004 in Kentucky, where she and her late husband lived and worked for a number of years.  After retiring in May 2011 after twelve years as Director of the Licensed Officials Department with United States Equestrian Federation in Lexington, KY, they moved back to their home state of Minnesota.  Mary continued weaving baskets and joined the Headwaters Basketmakers Guild, a supportive and educational group of weavers based in the Bemidji, MN area.  She is also a member of the National Basketry Organization.  Being exposed to many talented basket weavers in both KY and MN enabled her to learn various techniques along with the basics of different style reed and pine needle baskets.  

Historically, baskets were made from pliable natural materials available where the basket makers lived.  The most common material currently being used by basket weavers today is reed that is sourced from the long shoots of the rattan palm, which grows in the tropical forests of many South Pacific islands.  Mary’s coiled baskets are made from the needles of the Long Leaf Pine Tree, also known as Southern Pine that she gathered in the Panhandle area of Florida, cleaned and processed before coiling the baskets using either waxed linen thread or artificial sinew to stitch one coil to the previous coil.  More recently, she has begun experimenting using local materials such as daylily leaves and cattails to weave small baskets – some of these experiments end up as fire starters… 

Mary’s goal is to make practical and usable baskets that are also aesthetically pleasing.  In addition to woven and coiled baskets, Mary is creating a few boxes and other items using cartonnage techniques, using fabric or paper to cover chipboard. Each piece is individually cut and covered, then the item is assembled. 

Email:msmith56334@gmail.com