Shirley was inspired by her
grandmother's pine needle sewing basket. It intrigued her as to how
one could take something as humble
as a pine needle and create such
exquisite beauty.
Her grandmother's sewing basket
was quite old and the raffia used to construct the basket had
deteriorated. Shirley wished to repair the basket but had no idea
how to begin. While at an art show, one spring day, she noticed a
vendor creating pine needle baskets. She asked the vendor if she
would be so kind as to show her how to repair her grandmother's
basket. The vendor helped her repair her grandmother's basket and
spent another 3 hours giving her a basic lesson in pine needle
basketry.
From there, Shirley was
self-taught and found pine needle and gourd basketry to be an
intriguing art form that brought her both pleasure and a sense of
accomplishment.
You may ask "is Shirley a Native
American?" which is a question often times asked, in regards to pine
needle basketry. Her deceased father insisted there was Native
American blood flowing through the family veins. No proof was ever
established and Shirley does not lay claim to the proclamation.
Shirley is, however, an American and was born and raised in Colorado
before moving to California. She now resides in Tehachapi, CA with
her husband Arnold, her dog Gabby and her cat, Ben.
