Fran Doonan makes traditional brown ash baskets, handmade from ash log to finished
basket. Native Americans knew that pounding brown ash logs would loosen each year's
growth ring, yielding basket strips of exceptional strength and beauty. Although many
baskets today use sawn ash, thereby reducing hand labor, strength and quality are
sacrificed because sawing cuts across the grain. Traditional methods and top quality
are Fran's priority; many hours and much love go into her baskets.
Unfortunately, the brown ash tree is in environmental trouble, making it more and
more difficult to find healthy trees of basket quality. This scarcity, combined with the
fact that there are few people making baskets from this traditional material, gives
lasting value to these baskets.
Fran's baskets are constructed over solid forms. While a number of her forms were
built by Dave Mussey of Maine Journeys, most of her 60+ forms were passed on to her by
Louis Paul, a New Brunswick Maliseet Indian and lifelong basketmaker since the age
of 14. These forms provide a wide variety of traditional native designs, including
pack baskets, creels, harvest and market baskets, pie and bread baskets, and numerous
others.
Fran also teaches others to make these baskets through courses at the Maine Journeys workshop in Glenburn, Maine.
For information on prices, ordering and courses contact:
Fran Doonan