Board of Aldermen Member Bethany Chaney started making baskets from pine needles about 10 years ago. Staff writer Lauren Talley spoke with Chaney about her craft.
The Daily Tar Heel: When did you started making your baskets?
Bethany Chaney: I think I started around 10 years ago, maybe a little less. I started making them because I was living in a house in Carrboro that had three longleaf pine trees in the back yard, and the needles would fall, and I would rake them up, and I would think to myself, "These are really long needles, they’re beautiful, I hate raking them, somebody must be able to do something with them." Then I talked to somebody from the Basket Maker’s Guild and she said, "I know people who will come rake those up and make pine needle baskets out of them." So I advertised for somebody to come over and rake up the needles, and they came over and said, "You know you could make baskets out of these, you should just learn." I was intrigued, and so I did — I learned. I ordered a book online, and I taught myself to make baskets and I’ve been doing it ever since.
DTH: Is there anything else besides the pine needles that you use to make your baskets?
BC: I use centers that are like beads or pottery orbs that have enough hold in them that I can use them as the centers for the baskets. The baskets are built or held together with various kinds of threads, like waxed linen or raffia or artificial sinew — depends on what I have around.
DTH: Do you sell your baskets?
BC: I have occasionally sold my baskets. My sister owns a small gallery in Illinois and she sells her crafts out of it and sometimes she’ll sell mine, but mostly I give my baskets away.
DTH: I know you mentioned a book that you used to teach yourself, but was there a specific person who helped you along the way?
BC: No, I recently went to the John C. Campbell Folk School to do a weekend class, and there are a number of classes that are taught there on an annual basis on pine needle baskets, and I learned a lot and could really stand to learn more, so I will probably go back. I mostly just practice, and I still am not very good at it compared to more practiced people. Whenever I am around craft galleries, I like to look at other people’s baskets, and I learn that way — I think that’s pretty common in the trade. Womancraft in Carrboro is a co-op gallery, and they sell pine needle baskets made by artists who are members. You can see pine needle baskets at the North Carolina Craft Gallery that’s also in Carrboro. Whenever I’m at a gallery like that I always pick them up and look to see how other people do them. There are a lot of accomplished pine needle basket makers out there.
