What IS it about jars that is so appealing?

Much of my work over the last 20 years has been about the potential of mystery and containment in basketry. I use lids and closures to imply that, though there is something inside my vessels, we aren't allowed access to that space and those mysterious contents. While my woven forms reflect my continued interest in Japan, I was profoundly moved by the exhibition, "Secrecy: African Art that Conceals and Reveals" at The Museum for African Art in New York in 1993. And a recent lecture in India exposed to me to another rich culture with an entirely new set of colors and forms to inspire.

Japan, Africa and India provide overlays to the influences of a California childhood. The pantry there was filled with the color of canned peaches, the amber jars of fresh honey and the glistening red of pomegranate jelly. Now in my studio, there are new jars of pebbles collected from Kyoto garden paths and California beaches, as well as crocks of spooled silk thread and iron Japanese teapots. All inspire me.

These forms, whose textures invite you to touch, draw you inside and make you dream of other places and, perhaps, other times.