Sylvia Friday

Itinerant Basket Maker, Folk Artist, Storyteller & Teacher

I belong to the way of weaving like a spider in her web. The spirit of my work is woven from my relationships with fiber plants, with my ancestors and with the basketry community.

When gathering plant materials to weave with, I harvest in ways that keep the plants living. Engaging in a cycle of reciprocity and return offers me deep relationships with the plants I tend. The majority of time it takes to make a basket is in the gathering and processing of materials rather than the weaving. Repetition and memory move my hands to form and shape a vessel. Entering into a conversation with the material, a back and forth of possibilities. The everyday use of a basket continues the story as patterns of touch imbue layers of meaning into the familiar.

“It’s strange to be here, the mystery never leaves you” – John O’Donahue

In gratitude to my teachers, Margaret Mathewson, Skelk, Eli Goodwin, Ben Goodwin, Willow, ZigZag spider, Lobster creek, Storm King & Bingboo.