July 19, 2024
Annual Layers
Jonathan Kline
Interview by Sylvia Estes.
Photography & Videography by Em McCann Zauder.
SE: How and when were you first introduced to basketry?
JK: Probably initially through the Taconic basket makers who lived outside of Hudson, NY. Really, not in my lifetime, though there was one person still making baskets. Their heyday was probably the 19th century or so. There was a time when their baskets were extremely common, at least in the upper Hudson Valley. You could go into barns and find stacks of baskets that apple farms would use for harvesting. That was before my time. By the time I knew about them, they were already somewhat valuable. But yeah, that was probably my first introduction. And then, of course, the Shaker communities, which are not far from that area as well, were famous for their baskets, particularly baskets of Black Ash.
SE: What makes Black Ash trees so ideal for weaving?
JK: Well, Black Ash is, as far as I know, unique in its ability to separate along its annual growth layers. That's done by pounding a log along its length, which crushes the fibers in between the annual growth layers, the springwood fibers, the spongy layer. And then the layers themselves, the summer growth, can be peeled from the log, depending on their thickness and the log itself.
SE: How do you select a tree, and what are you looking for?
JK: A tree primarily with at least 6 to 8 feet that’s pretty straight and clear, meaning free of knots. That’s the best kind of material, especially for functional baskets. Then, often, in a really straight tree, there might be another log above, that's 6 to 8 feet that could be fairly usable for functional basket work. If not, it might have the kind of curves and knots that would be useful for the other kind of work I do – the more sculptural pieces.
SE: Why does it feel important to use parts of the tree that are traditionally “unusable” for basketry?
JK: Well, for a lot of years, before I started making work that was not functional, I didn’t have any use for those, and it always felt kind of… well, not particularly wasteful because I certainly always used it for firewood, but it was also quite beautiful. I enjoyed the wood itself, the curves and the knots. I suppose that was probably the inspiration for moving in the direction of doing sculptural work. The wood itself, the process itself – I’ve been doing it for 40 years now, so it gets kind of mundane, but it is a kind of miraculous process to be able to open up a log and peel it back like that. It’s not something that you can do – it is unique.
SE: Do you see your work as ecologically driven?
JK: Sure, yeah. Even before I wanted to necessarily be a basketmaker, I was kind of searching for some kind of livelihood that would allow me to do something that was both creatively engaging and also didn't feel like it compromised what have always been strong ideals for ecological sustainability.
SE: What is the difference between a functional and a sculptural basket to you?
JK: Well, function – everything's functional, I suppose. A utilitarian basket, I suppose, is a vessel for containing things. Examples are many, whether it’s gathering, just carrying things, market baskets, or field baskets. I think probably I have said this a lot, but I think it's true: basketry is probably the earliest craft. It requires little technology; wherever people are or have been, there is always some material to weave together to form containers. Non-functional sculptural work functions as inspirational pieces. They’re no less important.
SE: When/how did you start thinking about basketry as a medium for sculpture?
JK: Probably a good 15 years into making baskets, and I'm not sure I can pinpoint any specific occurrence. I grew up drawing all the time, looking at architecture, looking at sculpture. I loved Noguchi and Brancusi. I loved all those forms. But as a basketmaker, I was really drawn to the idea of utility and beauty and tactile functionality. I really felt that was the purpose of this. Moving to color was the first stage before I moved into actual different forms. It took me probably 10 years to start using color in my work. I was somewhat of a purist in that I didn’t want to put anything on the baskets for quite some time. So when I made that leap into color, it became really interesting in both the possibilities and also the response that I saw from people. People really, obviously, respond to color. I think from color it was another leap to form.
SE: You speak about how baskets are a reflection of a tree’s life. What do you mean by this?
JK: Well, in the most literal sense, the tree does come apart year by year, and the basket is a weaving of those layers, so very literally it is a reflection of the tree. I mean, that's the source, that's the inspiration really. I've built my whole life around it, really. So it's kind of integrated into my life. And the woods, walking in the woods is probably the greatest inspiration both for sculptural forms and enjoying doing this work.
SE: Can you say more about how your creative process fits into your daily life?
JK: It’s one and the same. It’s interesting, when we bought this place in the mid-80s, I didn’t buy it because I knew there was any Black Ash here. Black Ash is not easy to find. It’s never been easy to find. Now, of course, it's mostly gone. When I got out here and started walking the woods and the surrounding woods, we didn't have any Black Ash on our property. Most of our woods are more upland, well-drained soils, which is not where Black Ash is. But on the lower part of our land, on my neighbor's property, I discovered some really beautiful Black Ash. My neighbor was a great guy, was the 5th generation on that property, and was a really knowledgeable person, knew a lot about the trees. He told me basically that whatever I wanted to cut I was welcome to. So I cut some trees there. There were two trees that were probably still the most magnificent trees that I've ever seen. I didn’t want to cut them because I just wanted them to grow and hopefully reproduce, but I think about four years ago now, those trees were dead. So I cut them. They were like 22” diameter Black Ash, each one had three 8-ft usable logs. I still have most of those soaking in a neighbor's pond.
SE: Can you tell us a bit about why Black Ash is dying?
JK: The Emerald Ash Borer is a beetle from some part of China, I believe, that showed up here probably in the early 2000s. I think the understanding is that it arrived on wood pallets in the Midwest. Where it lives natively in Asia, it does not harm the native Ash there, but here the Ash have no resistance to it. It's slowly worked its way to the east. It's taken some time, probably 15 years, to really show up on the East Coast and start decimating the woods here. It showed up here probably about 5 years ago.
SE: What do you see the future is for the craft?
JK: Well, it's certainly going to be diminished for some period of time. I know there are projects that are saving seeds and planting young trees. I think it all will be dependent on whether the Emerald Ash Borer ever really declines. I know there's a lot of work being done on it; for example, they're introducing parasitic wasps. I’m not sure how effective it's been so far. I don’t think anybody knows. And then there's the possibility, and the hope, that there will be some natural resistance that some trees will have. I know people are looking into that, but I’m not sure what the latest understanding is, whether that really exists or not.
Jonathan Kline
Jonathan Kline’s baskets honor the particular beauty of Black Ash trees. What makes this species so ideal for basketry is the relative ease in which it is possible to separate the tree’s annual rings. Each strip of wood is effectively a snapshot of the tree’s life and growth. Kline shows reverence for each layer by constructing undulating trunk-like woven forms, and highly refined, usable baskets.
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