Harvesting Black Ash Splints for Basketry.

During Eric’s workshops, many of his students ask him about the process of harvesting Black Ash basket materials. However, Eric only has time for a quick verbal explanation. Then I remembered that he mentioned he saw a video online about this subject. So I sent him an official inter-office request (a pink powerpuff girl post-it note left on his workstation) to email me the link to this video to post on my blog. It was created by basketry artist, and Abenaki Indian, Jesse Larocque in the summer of 2010. Viewing the process, rather than hearing about it, definitely gives you a better idea of what is involved in obtaining the materials to make a Black Ash basket. This short video thoroughly displays the steps in removing the ash splints from the tree — specifically the pounding of wood. In one part, the artist is demonstrating the “Splitting to Satin” (it looks like one strip of wood being split in two with one half pulled to the left and one half pulled to the right) which I have tried in Eric’s workshop. I can attest that it’s harder than it looks and if you do it long enough, it’s very good for the biceps! I lasted about two minutes before I began whining that my arms were hurting. It’s clear that Jesse is highly experienced because the whole process looks easy for him, but we all know otherwise. So if you have not seen this video before, it is below. You can find more info about Jesse Larocque and his Black Ash basket making at his website: www.abenakibaskets.com