May 25, 2007

The Art of Recycling: Beachcombing basket weaver coils new life into old lineBy Scott ChristiansenKodiak Daily Mirror

When Penelope Cyr-Lorenson began constructing baskets with discarded rope from Kodiak’s fishing fleet last year, the long-time basket weaver thought the technique would be easy: spiral the line into a base, basket or lid; weld the rope’s polypropylene fibers together with a woodburning tool; ornament with a sea glass bead or seashell; and voila! — deliver it to the gift shop.

“I thought I was going to get away with something at first,” Cyr-Lorenson recalled. But she soon found the new technique requires just as much patience as she needs for the Nantucket-style cane basketry and Alutiiq grass weaving techniques she previously mastered.

Anyone trying this type of basketry should first know if they are patient, Lorenson said.

“And watch out for burns, burns, burns,” she added.

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