Page 55 - CA 2019 Final(3)

Basketmaker gives his materials

their say in the process

Gabriel Frey, award-winning Passamaquoddy basketmaker

Feature & phot s by Johanna S. Billings

For Gabriel Frey, making a basket requires collaboration.
Although he does work with other artists to create pieces, the
real collaboration is with the materials he uses.
“Individual pieces have their own narrative,” said Gabriel,
who actually starts the basket making process with a log. Few
logs are perfectly straight. The artist must work with the grain
he is given.
“In a sense the material does tell you what you can do with
it,” he said. He uses the blunt side of an ax to pound on an ash
tree log, coaxing it to release layers of fiber. He then uses a tra-
ditional Native American tool to split the long fibers into thin-
ner pieces and then he uses a different tool to slice them into
smaller strands, still following the grain of the wood.
In order to ensure he gets the high quality material he desires,
Gabriel harvests his own trees. Ash is considered to be a “junk
wood” by most other industries. It’s not suitable to use as pulp,
for example. How it will work for baskets depends on a variety
of factors including location and moisture as well as the overall
health of the tree. He said he knows what to look for better
than others who harvest and then try to sell the logs.

Above: Gabriel uses an ax to pound an ash tree log, convincing it to
release its fibers.

Right: another tool follows the
grain of the wood to create pieces
of the right size for weaving.

Above: a special Native American tool is used to split the Continued on the next page
fiber into manageable thicknesses.
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