About the Artist –A wildcrafter uses herbs, botanicals and other items gathered from natural surroundings to create works of art. Jean has been a wildcrafter since early childhood, gathering her first materials in her native Florida.

Artist Statement – The most wonderful part of making baskets and wreaths from wildflowers, vines, grasses and pine needles, is going out to get them. I love walking in Nature’s beauty and serenity while I’m looking for interesting materials to bring home. I use my baskets not only for holding herbs but also for the shells, seeds, feathers, and other objects I find. They are great for household clutter too- coins, guitar picks, mail, rubber bands… I make my baskets sturdy because I am hard on them myself.

My belief is that art can be useful and the everyday should be artful. Thoreau said, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.” So many people have stamped out the wildness of nature and they don’t see the benefits of weeds. I’m trying to intertwine this weird beauty with people’s lives in a way that is as beautiful as Mother Nature herself.

The baskets come in different shapes and designs and each has my signature- a wildflower tucked into it or curvy stick or shell. The coiling technique I use for pine  needle baskets comes from my home state of Florida where Seminoles have traditionally made this type of basket.

When you weave, you are interlacing fragments into a connected whole. I guess in a way I am bringing together my past and my destiny so that I am whole. And in the process I am keeping the lore alive.

You, too, can own a bit of the wildness and vibrancy of nature. Bring the outside in! Rejoice in the Great Green Goddess!