Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

To many people, basket making is an art, creating an involved and often elaborate piece of art from something as strong and unbending as a black ash hardwood tree. For Ann Mitchell, basket making is a form of art, but more so, basket making is her salvation. Ann comes from a long line of basket makers, her great grandmother Louise Barnes made baskets for a living, but had to hide this craft for fear of losing her benefits. The line jumped down to her mother, Laura Mitchell, who makes baskets, and across to Ann's uncle, Jack Lazore, who is well known for preparing black ash logs for the splint she uses for her baskets. Laura Mitchell learned the skill and process of making splint baskets by watching Annabelle Oakes, who in turn taught Ann. But Ann was distracted by all things growing up as a little girl, and soon forgot all about basket making. Besides giving credit to her mom for teaching her how to make baskets, Ann's Aunt Louise (Wizzie) Lazore also taught her along the way.

Then as things return as they often do when let go, Ann started making baskets once again. The next time Ann was to pick up splints and use the splints to form a basket, a transformation took place. She found purpose in it. Not the practical purpose of making a splint basket to sell for a living, or the artist's need to create, but a real purpose of feeling "good" about herself.

In a candid admission, Ann said she felt like everything has changed in her life, "When I make baskets, I feel calm and happy. I had zero self-esteem before I started making baskets. I had zero self-respect. I would be so happy, then so depressed I would smash things. I couldn't keep a job. I would get so upset about something I would just quit on a whim and then regret it later. Now I feel so much better about myself. I've gained respect from my peers and from people I don't even know. I'm starting to get recognized by others."

That is on the outside, from inside of herself, Ann said, "Basket making is really rewarding, it's like being in a trance or meditating". Basket making and medication has put Ann on a road she thought wasn't possible. She thought it was normal to be so extremely happy, then so sad she couldn't function. Now, with medication and basket making Ann has a new life.

"I find inspiration everywhere, sometimes I dream of baskets or certain colors and color schemes and other times I see inspiration in something as simple as a color wheel or paint chips in a hardware store. I see it in everything I look at."

Baskets by Ann Mitchell. Her baskets can be seen on Mitchell Baskets on Facebook. 

This inspiration serves her well. The color schemes of her baskets have taken them to a new level. Ann isn't afraid to use color, bright and bold and often contrasting colors confidently. She will spend hours concentrating on cutting out petals for a flower then painstaking dyeing each petal by hand, giving the petals a more lifelike look. Ann created a "lotus flower" that adorns many of her color drenched baskets. She isn't afraid to create new weaves or to use traditional weaves in unusual combinations

From her Facebook page Ann appears as a hip, artsy, confident young woman. In person, she is shy, still navigating the newfound peace within herself and at the same time totally at peace when she starts working on her baskets. "I'm not afraid to talk about being bi-polar; people need to learn more about it and when someone tells you you might need help – it's good to listen to them. I am so lucky to have my family and my boyfriend. He never, never gave up on me. He's been by my side through everything."

Ann is currently trying to build up her inventory, hopefully making the trek across the country this summer to attend the Santa Fe Indian Market. She's focused, she has goals and she is tremendously talented. Ann can be contacted through Facebook.