Christine Joy
Basketweaver
Bozeman, MT, USA
Willow at its most whimsical
- Christine makes willow sculptures with dense, organic forms and flowing lines
- She is a member of the National Basketry Organization
- Her pieces can be found at Yale University Art Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
After graduating with a master’s degree in art therapy, Christine Joy moved to Montana to work as a recreational therapist for the elderly. In her spare time, she crafted sculptural willow baskets, building off the basic skills she picked up in her university’s fibre classes. “During long hours at the nursing home, basket making became my art therapy,” Christine recalls. She is inspired by the wide-open landscapes of the American West and the versatility of the willow she harvests through fall and winter annually from a friend’s garden. Christine spends the rest of the year weaving in her backyard studio, where she typically works on multiple pieces at once. Her cocoon-like willow sculptures are characterised by their circular geometries and carefully controlled, interlacing branches.
INTERVIEW
In college, I majored in printmaking, but I really enjoyed a basketry class I took at our school’s fibre department. Professors encourged self-directed experimentation, which I loved. It made me realise that basketweaving is where I belonged.
I made an Easter basket inspired by the elaborate bun hairstyle of a resident I assisted at a nursing home. The basket was not very well-made, and I had to add a papier-mâché compound to maintain its form. However, the tactile making process felt good for my soul.
I did not want to rely on commercial art sales to make a living. I did not want the pressure of wondering if a piece was good enough to sell. What I wanted was the freedom to explore. I have always believed an artist is foremost someone who uses art to explore themselves.
While there are many choices to be made at the start of the weaving process, by the end, there are very few. I can spend more than a decade working on a single piece, but at some point, it becomes like a book I have picked up a few times but never quite finished, I simply want to know how it ends.
