Click on Any Image to Enlarge

I have been a basket maker for twenty years. The basketry technique I love most is coiling. When I was introduced to hard shell gourds ten years ago, I knew I had to use my coiling art on these great gifts of nature.



Beginning with the gourd as my foundation, I use coiling to build something new. I create a structure that combines gourd and fiber, thus enhancing or altering the gourd's original shape. To accomplish this I wrap waxed linen thread around a fiber core, attaching row upon row to the gourd. Color is added using leather dye. The piece is preserved with a protective coating. Some gourds are covered with handmade paper.



I love the entire process used to create my pieces. It begins with studying a gourd in its natural state, deciding how it should be cut and built upon, and then transforming it into a three-dimensional art form.



A life-long fascination with shapes and textures in nature, as well as ceramics, woodturning, and fiber arts, keeps me motivated to explore and create.

Group Exhibitions:

Bay Area Basketmakers Gualala Arts Center ~ 2000 thru 2005
Festival of Art in the Redwoods ~ 2000, 2004, 2005


Gallery Shows:

Scharfenberger Cellars, Philo ~ 2004, 2005
Pacific Echo Cellars, Philo ~ 2001
Dolphin Gallery, Gualala ~ 2000, 2004


Awards:

Festival of Art in the Redwoods, Mixed Media ~ 2000, 2004, 2005
Conference of Northern California Handweavers, Technical Merit ~ 2000



JoAnne Abreu

PO Box 673
Albion, CA 95410

707.937.3155


EMAIL: abreu@mcn.org

Click on Any Image to Enlarge