Sticks and Stones Basket

Prangley blends traditional basketry making with wire-working techniques and adds paper in the process to create her wire and paper baskets. The base is woven from fine-gauge annealed steel wire, and the sides are constructed of heavy-gauge annealed steel wire that's concealed within the paper sticks-and-stones shapes that form the basket.

Each stick-and-stone shape is made with many layers of papers that are "painted" on with a special glue to their individual fiberboard underlayment shapes to create color, texture, and strength. Unryu rag papers from Asia and tissue papers are primarily used in the geometric shapes. Design details are made from slivers and shreds of papers that are also "painted" on with glue. The shapes are sealed with a gel medium that helps protect the basket during use and from ultra-violet light.

The resulting wire and paper basket is solid, strong, and functional. The basket rim is finished off in a wire-wrapping technique and completed with dark brown glass seed beads wired around the perimeter. The base is completed with a centerpiece of vintage buttons. Use a soft cloth to clean/wipe down, and do not keep in direct full sunlight. Because of the handmade nature of the work, no two "Sticks and Stones Baskets" are exactly alike.