Ellonyia Yenney
Ellonyia Yenney -- Artist Statement
www.bierbaskets.com
E-Mail
Growing-up, baskets were something that my mother loved
and I simply could not have cared less about. They're just
baskets after all… how boring.
Fast forward to my “adult years”…I had a wonderful job
where I sat in front of a computer all day. I really enjoyed
what I did, but I realized that I craved creating something
that I could sit back and see. Something tangible.
Children get to create works to bring home and pasta
necklaces to share… as adults, so much of what we now do is
different from actually making things. I’m not saying that this is
bad… but my mind wanted to actually create something
again. My psyche was craving to cry out, “I made that!”
On a lark, one Saturday, I wove a basket with a friend and it
got the wheels in my mind going… I liked the “idea” of what I
had done. So I bought a bunch of reed and simply started
weaving.
For the most part, I feel that the world has enough square,
brown baskets. I don’t need to spend my time making more
of them. My attraction to weaving is working with new shapes,
materials, textures and color tones.
While I have a specific direction in mind when I start, I find
that my unconscious leads me to the final end-result and lets
me know when a piece is simply “done”. My weavings are
such a source of joy to me as they are simply so organic and
tranquil.
I can’t imagine what my life was like before I wove.
www.bierbaskets.com
Growing-up, baskets were something that my mother loved
and I simply could not have cared less about. They're just
baskets after all… how boring.
Fast forward to my “adult years”…I had a wonderful job
where I sat in front of a computer all day. I really enjoyed
what I did, but I realized that I craved creating something
that I could sit back and see. Something tangible.
Children get to create works to bring home and pasta
necklaces to share… as adults, so much of what we now do is
different from actually making things. I’m not saying that this is
bad… but my mind wanted to actually create something
again. My psyche was craving to cry out, “I made that!”
On a lark, one Saturday, I wove a basket with a friend and it
got the wheels in my mind going… I liked the “idea” of what I
had done. So I bought a bunch of reed and simply started
weaving.
For the most part, I feel that the world has enough square,
brown baskets. I don’t need to spend my time making more
of them. My attraction to weaving is working with new shapes,
materials, textures and color tones.
While I have a specific direction in mind when I start, I find
that my unconscious leads me to the final end-result and lets
me know when a piece is simply “done”. My weavings are
such a source of joy to me as they are simply so organic and
tranquil.
I can’t imagine what my life was like before I wove.
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