Description
Long-leaf pine needles, some naturally dried green, and dyed needles are used with imitation sinew, glass beads, and gar scales. It's a round basket with gar scales rimming the basket with glass beads, used as an accent.
Materials
Long leaf pine needles, synthetic dyes, gar scales, glass beads, imitation sinew.
Dimensions
2.5" x 5.25" x 5.5"
Debra S. Keazer
Cherokee Nation
About the Artist
This will be my third year of participating in this show. I started learning this past fall from a Choctaw pine needle coiler. In 2023, I won the 2nd place award for Emerging Artist at the 28th Annual Cherokee Homecoming Art Show. The following year, I won 1st place at Red Earth (not in the basket category as they didn't have one last year) and also received the Emerging Artist award at Red Earth.
Looking ahead, I plan to expand my skills by learning techniques that I have only seen practiced by tribes in Louisiana. It's an exciting world for sure. It's always fun to learn new things with pine needles. This past fall, I taught a couple of classes, including one with my 11-year-old granddaughter. I plan on teaching another 11-year-old this summer. Teaching can be challenging since I am left-handed, though I can do some stitches right-handed.
In the past, I have taught a couple of lefties. I am good at seeing something made right-handed but reversing it to do it my way. I feel like I am continuing the knowledge of coiling with pine needles, which is a priority to me since I gave up twilled and twined baskets after practicing it for over 20 years. Due to hand surgery, I now focus on making pine needle baskets.
