Janie Tubbs

Ribbed Wall Basket from the Social Distancing Series (2020)
basket making: reed, dyed reed, smoked reed, forsythia bush shoots for the handle and ribs
19 x 14.5 x 9 in.
NFS

Janie Tubbs is a traditional/functional basketmaker who also works with clay and jewelry. Retired from The Clayworks in McPherson, Kansas where she taught clay and basket-making to people with physical and intellectual disabilities, she now is working at a nursery/greenhouse in a rural setting of Nowata, Oklahoma. Janie Tubbs has demonstrated basket-making at Millfest for Kids and the Midsummer’s Festival in Lindsborg, Kansas for the last 15 years.

Before the ‘stay at home order’ went into effect, her weaving time consisted of an hour after work. Janie Tubbs mainly used purchased reed from the rattan vine, but has now had the chance to search for optional materials when the purchased material started running out. Being located in a rural area along a lake has allowed her to have large blocks of time to search for indigenous materials with which to weave.

“I am locating, collecting, figuring out how to process the material, and then learning how to use the materials. So far, I have located Forsythia Bush shoots, Wild Grapevine, Iris leaves, Honeysuckle Vine, Willow shoots, and Yucca leaves. This extra ‘stay at home order’ time has provided new opportunities and growth for my basket-making.”

© Janie Tubbs