Heartstones and Gratitude Baskets

Tanya Doty is a basketry artist from Moutere. Here are her words about her solo exhibition

“My earliest memories are those that connect me to nature.”

I cherish the connection to the earth through the materials I am always full of gratitude for where basketmaking has taken me and the combination of stones and baskets nestling together seems quite right.

Stones, grounding and symbolic, used for centuries across the world as markers of important times or places. Happiness, prosperity, unity, strength and any good thoughts are what I like to reflect on when I am making a blessing stone. I sincerely hope my own good feelings will add to the blessings of the receiver. Of course all of this comes down to your own personal belief system and it is up to the person receiving the stone as to whether they partake in this belief around them. Some might prefer to see them as purely a decorative item.

Baskets – practical and decorative, my woven work is a testament to the intimate bond I share with the earth, a connection deeply rooted in the materials I use. Using what’s around me in nature I have a bounty at my fingertips. In the garden or at the beach I pounce on these treasures, already half reimagined into its other life. I take these taonga and apply basketry techniques used world wide, delighting in resurrecting nature’s castoffs, reinterpreting how natural elements are viewed and displayed.

Through my work, I aim to offer a new narrative for these natural elements, one that honours their origin and invites contemplation on their continued journey.