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Title:
Raven Steals the Sun
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Category:
Art Piece
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Dimensions
(W x H x D):
14" x 31" x 14"
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Date Completed:
December 18, 1998
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Hours Spent:
187
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Materials Used:
Dyed porcupine quills, cherry wood
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Special Techniques:
Mold designed by artist, hand carved
cherry raven
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Description:
This Nantucket-style basket is a one-of-
a-kind design inspired by Northwest
Coast Haida Indian legends. It features
a red, black, orange and yellow
porcupine quill design that the artist
used to depict the sun. The raven was
hand carved out of one piece of cherry
and tops the lid. A Styrofoam mold,
turned on a lathe, was designed
specifically for this basket. When the
basket was completed, the mold was
removed by burning it out with a hot
wire. The ribs were cut and shaped
using a sander, and the rims and top
and bottom plates were turned on a
lathe.
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Artist: Fred Ely
On a trip to Cape Cod in 1984, Interlochen,
Michigan resident Fred Ely and his wife purchased
some Nantucket lightship-style baskets made by
Ainsley Rockwood of Mashpee, Massachusetts. Under
Rockwood’s guidance, along with considerable
trial and error, Fred produced his first mold and
lightship style basket in 1985. He joined the AMB
and continued to make baskets, constantly
inquiring about technique from AMB members. After
making bigger and bigger baskets, Fred wanted to
make a Nantucket-style basket with an unusual
shape. He struggled to make a wooden puzzle mold,
a mold on which a basket could be formed and
which could be disassembled after the basket was
woven without wrecking the basket. A friend
suggested making the mold from Styrofoam and he
did so, using a file to get the desired shape and
using a hot wire to burn out the mold when the
basket was done.
Before creating a mold, Fred, a former architect,
draws plans and calculates the precise
specifications for the base, ribs, and rims. He
also creates a separate mold of wood and aluminum
to shape the ribs before placing them in the base
and on the Styrofoam mold. He prefers cherry for
his rims and ribs, and cherry burl for his bases
and covers. His works are often inspired by the
legends of Northwest Coast Indians. A former bird
and decoy carver, Fred carves the shapes of
animals such as whales and eagles into his rims
and handles. He typically embellishes his weaving
with porcupine quills or dyed cane and sometimes
adds silver or gold decorations to the handles or
bases. Fred enjoys the challenge of learning how
to work with new and different beautiful
materials and is now experimenting with using
baleen for both the staves and weaving material.
Fred signs and numbers each basket and records
the number, name, and shape of each basket as
well as the number of hours to create each one.
Most of his baskets take hundreds of hours to
create. Now Fred makes one or two a year, each a
unique piece, always showing a new idea or
technique. Fred has won the AMB conference
viewer’s choice award for several years, proof
that his peers appreciate his innovative
endeavors. His work is included in many private
collections, was featured in a one-man show “Free
Spirits... Nantucket Inspired Baskets” at the
Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum in 2001, and is
included in the book 500 Baskets: A Celebration
of the Basketmaker’s Art.
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Created in conjunction with Michigan State University and the
Association of Michigan Basketmakers © 2003
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