Shalan Joudry

If you love handmade baskets and like meeting the makers in a pictorial survey, this is the book for you. Holly Brown Bear's photographs do justice to the gorgeous artistry and each artist has a multi--page spread to describe their philosophy and background in their families' traditional basket-making. I especially admired the poetic format which the visionary Peter Clair followed.

My one disappointment was that there was no overview of makers or photos of the historical basketry in previous centuries. The indigenous cedar bark work of other nations such as those on the West Coast has been preserved in museums, and it would have been interesting to see some representation of early Mi'kmaw Basketry. However Catherine Anne Martin wrote an informative introduction, explaining how the arrival of French and British immigrants in the 1600's changed traditional basketry and presented opportunities for economic family support.… (mehr)