Billy Ray Sims Basketmaker
Traditional white oak and splint basketry
Category: Featured Artists
Appalachian Egg Basket
11″ x 14″ x 10″ Carved, whittled, woven, rib work construction; hand-split white oak This basket is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum as a gift from Martha G. Ware and Steven R. Cole. It’s based on an Appalachian style known…
Read MoreWhite Oak Market Basket
6 1/2″ x 10″ x 7 1/2″ I’ve enjoyed the privilege of working before with Leona Waddell, a wonderful master basketmaker in Cecilia, KY, but this one was something special. It’s a small market basket, similar to larger versions Leona…
Read MoreSweetgrass Rice Fanner
2 1/4″ x 16″ x 16″ Coiled and sewn construction; sweetgrass, bulrush, palmetto Some 15 years ago, I lived on an old wooden sailboat on the Stono River just south of Charleston, SC. Newly divorced and in need of healing,…
Read MoreBlack Ash Pack Baskets
22″ x 13″ x 9″ Woven, split-work construction; hand-split black ash and white oak, saddle leather straps Woven from New Hampshire black ash with white oak rim and handle, this basket was a fun take on the traditional New England…
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