Fine Weave Basket made by Jeremy Frey, Passamaquoddy.

I just got this one, made by Jeremy Frey and finished in December of 2012. He calls this basket a "Fine Weave Basket", and it certainly is! It is one of his signature styles, and he just started weaving in 2002. This basket is small, 3 inches in diameter and 3 1/4 in height (to top of finial) He won "Best in Show" at the 2011 Heard Museum Invitational in 2011, as well as "Best in Show" at the SWIA 2011 Santa Fe Indian Market... Only 2nd time in 85 years that the same artist won these 2 most prestigious "bests" in the same year. His artistry with traditional styles as well as his innovative new styles are amazing...and he is still young. I can only imagine how his work will evolve as he gets older.

This basket is made with traditional Brown Ash (two colors) and if you look closely, you will see a line woven using a different weave style all the way around the basket, from the bottom to the top rim. Usually that line is hidden on the inside of the basket, but I like it on the outside. The size of the tiny splints are the smallest used, 1/32 inch wide. It is very difficult to do this, and Jeremy does all the preparation himself from finding the right Ash Tree to gathering the grasses. There is tidal sweet grass used to finish off the rim of the lid and basket.

Jeremy has only been weaving a short time, and already his talent is celebrated. His work is shown in museums and is highly sought after by serious collectors. I am very happy to have his work in my collection. Only a few of my baskets are what you would call new at all, I usually only go after baskets that are very old. But I made an exception to get this and the other Urchin Basket from Jeremy Frey, he is just such a great talent and I know he will be celebrated for his artistry for a very long time to come. I wanted to get a couple examples of his work while I could still afford his prices :)

Enjoy the pics :)