Cane Baskets

A family who lives on the outskirts of Victoria, a town in the northern part of the state of Guanajuato, forms an efficient basketmaking team. Each member prepares a part of the basket in assembly-line fashion. The father harvests the cane, then splits some of the cane. The daughters process the cane and begin the baskets; their mother finishes the baskets.
 
Freshly harvested cane is split with a knife, the joints are popped to flatten the wider pieces, the soft inside is removed with a knife, and then the cane is pounded between rocks to make it pliable.

 

The inner and outer layers of a piece of split cane are separated to form pliable weavers, then the base is assembled and woven. 

 

The sides of the basket are woven. 

 

Every other short piece is cut off around the top, while the remaining pieces are thinned and folded over and inserted into the basket rim. The two long pieces are overlapped and inserted into the opposite side of the basket to make the handle. The rim and handle are then covered with cane.

GUANAJUATO LINKS:
 Capelo
Ceramist, José Luis Méndez Ortega
Gorki Ceramics
Guevara Ceramics
Tecpatl Ceramics
Jeweler, Francisco Garcia Guevara
Tinsmithing
ARTCERA wax figures of Salamanca, Guanajuato
Betancourt Icons of Celaya, Guanajuato
Gobelin tapestry weaving in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato
Ikat foot-loom woven shawls of Moroleon and Uriangato, Guanajuato
Papermaker, Margarita Orozco Ramirez, of San Miguel, Guanajuato
Wood carver, Fernando Giron Pantoja, of Apaseo el Alto, Guanajuato

OTHER LINKS:
 Los Leñateros Papermaking, Printmaking, and Book Arts Studio
Reed baskets   
Mexican Baskets
Basketmaking in Cameroon, Africa
Tapestry crochet basket pattern
Haida cedar bark hat maker, Gladys Vandal  
Carol Ventura's Home Page 

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Web page, photographs, and text by Carol Ventura.