Clarke County

Pine Needle Basketry

In 2012 after attending a pine needle basketry class at the Grove Hill Arts Council, Kathy Nelson fell in love with this delicate, time-consuming but beautiful craft! Since that time, she has made too many baskets to count and improves her skill with each and every one.

Kathy harvests her own long leaf pine needles, brown and green and makes them into functional and beautiful baskets. She doesn't usually start with a pattern or plan, but lets each basket develop on its own as she is coiling. Depending upon the size, it takes 10 to 12 hours for her to coil a basket. Most recently, she has begun dying her pine needles, which are expanding her color palette even more.

"I love every aspect of the basket making process, from gathering the needles, sorting, drying, soaking, and finally coiling."