 George Tippin P.O. Box 1211 Capitan, NM 88316 505.354.2049 These pine needle baskets are a product of Capitan, NM, as the pine needles are from the Ponderosa Pine in front of the Smoky Bear State Historical Park.
Each basket is a one of a kind production, and while I decide if the basket will be basically round oval, or even square the color and style of the lacing, the over all shape, and size is largely determined by the pine needles. The embellishments are depended on now the spirit moves me at the moment, some receive no embellishments, some a little, and with some I really get carried away.
I started with baskets in Nebraska helping Boy Scouts at summer camp earn their basket making Merit Badge. The challenge was to make a basket out of native material rather than store bought supplies. In Lincoln County, and Capitan there is no shortage of pine needles, and while no one objects to my picking the pine needs up off he ground, I do receive some rather strange looks at times.
I like to joke that Capitan has ordnance that the rowdies have to be off the streets after dark, and making the baskets keeps me out of trouble. I am known as “Ol’ George”. I’m the old guy you see walking about town wearing a home made leather hat festooned with pins.
Basket making is a very ancient craft that predates pottery. Baskets were made by all the people in the world, and used for many things from storage to gathering, to cooking. The baskets were made from what ever material was available in the local area. There are two general types of baskets, woven and coil. In the coil type, the coils are sewn or laced together to form the shape of the basket. It is the sewing or lacing of the coils that requires the majority of the time. Pine needles lend themselves best to the coil type basket, and are for the most part either round or oval Basket making is a rather tedious task and requires some eye hand coordination. Perhaps the single most common problem in making a pine needle basket or any type of basket, or craft, is that one wants to finish the project in a hurry.
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