Elizabeth Runyon
Basketweaver
Paris, KY, USA
Recommended by Craft in America
Weaving the stubborn reed
- Elizabeth crafts large-scale fantastical creatures and unlikely compositions in basketry
- Her primary material is reed she imports from Asia
- She credits her background in music for informing her approach to basketweaving
Spending her life in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and Ohio exposed Elizabeth Runyon to local basketweaving techniques from an early age. In 2012, she began creating oversized sculptural pieces from reed, and has grown the craft into her full-time occupation. Elizabeth's designs struck a chord with audiences, and today her work can be found in museums and galleries. Coming from a background in music has informed her approach to basketry: she starts with the figment of a design, such as a line or an elemental shape, before developing the concept with reeds until something substantial has been fashioned. The shapes of her pieces oscillate between the abstract and the zoomorphic. In all cases they tantalise the imagination of the beholder.
INTERVIEW
I see it as communicating with the material. I start from a sketch. The idea I have in my head may be no more than a curved line, which I will do variations on. This may stem from my musical background. Many different forms of music have a theme and then a variation on that theme.
I will begin with an idea in my head, but once I am making the piece, if the reed says no, I have to adapt. I like to persuade the reed into a particular shape, but I feel very much that it is a living thing and must be listened to. We are working together to make an amazing piece.
There are a lot of great little tools that make things easier, coping tools, I like to say. Precise cutting tools such as little snippers are great for cutting at an angle, but on the whole it is mostly about working with hands. I also need access to water because I work the material while it is damp.
I call it radical reed because the way the piece turns out is radical to me. Most people will look at my pieces and think how curious it is. It looks like a basket, but is it really a basket? It does not hold anything. The movement of the piece is intriguing. I like to play on people’s expectations in this way.
Elizabeth Runyon
Basketweaver
Paris, KY, USA
Recommended by Craft in America
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Paris, KY, USA
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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