Lisa Marie's Basketry |

From the mountains of Idaho

My "back yard" is the Boise National Forest which surrounds Idaho City. This beautiful patch of Mother Earth is where I play and gather the pine needles for the baskets and bowls that I create.

The pine needles are harvested from dead, fallen trees left behind by the logging companies in our forest. The needles are NEVER stripped from living trees. In a sense, new life is given to an otherwise dead product.

The gourds are grown right in Idaho City; a small mountain town Northeast of Boise. Idaho City's summers are short and covers are needed to extend the growing season until the gourds mature. Upon reaching maturity, the gourds take several months to dry before work can begin on them. Various different gourds are grown to obtain a large variety. Each gourd is unique in its shape and size thus giving each basket it's own unique design.

Once the needles have been gathered, cleaned and sorted and the gourds are dried, cut and cleaned out; the creativity begins. Each piece tends to take on a life of its own and becomes a natural work of art with a practical use.

Thank you, MaryJane!

I offer many thanks and much appreciation to my farm girl sister MaryJane for her support of my work. Three of my baskets and a pine needle bell are in MaryJane Butter's new book MaryJane's Outpost; Unleashing Your Inner Wild. You can find them on pp. 172-173. If you have not bought a copy of her book yet, you can get it at many bookstores or directly from MaryJane's website of which I provide a link for you to get to the "farm". All of MaryJanes' books; and her magazine, MaryJanesFarm, are a wealth of information and fun! Chock-full of ideas and do-it-yourself farmgirl style organic living at it's best. I encourage everyone to check her out. It's so worth it!

To Purchase Baskets in Gallery

If you wish to purchase a basket from the gallery: email me at lmartinez508@msn.com (you may have to copy and paste to your own email). Type the item number in the subject line and I will return email to set up your purchase.

First come, first serve. Date and time stamps on emails ensure that this happens.

I can only accept money orders and checks at this time. Items will be shipped immediately upon reciept of a money order. Shipment for items paid by check will be on hold until check clears the bank. I'm sorry for any inconvenience that may cause.

Thank you for your patronage.