Friday, August 19, 2005

Swill Basket


Owen Working
Originally uploaded by notionnanny.
Basket-weaver Owen Jones's studio is a small stone structure with a large wooden door that moves with the breeze, filtering in the natural light onto stacks and bundles of wood at various states of transformation. I was fascinated by the various tools he used, like a sort of mallet made from a small log with a thick branch handle, or a measuring stick that was literally a stick with carved notches. The organic fluidity between raw material, process, and end product suggested a hall of mirrors. We talked about the performative aspects of his work, and about re-enactment. As a way to subsidize his income and to balance out the solitary times with some social interaction, he often teaches and goes to re-enactments to demonstrate his work. He says he would never sell his baskets in a store because that would make him like a “machine” and his workshop would become like a “factory.”

Here is Owen, pausing for a moment with the basket we made together today.

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