For millennia, Native artists on Olympic Peninsula, in what is now northwestern Washington, have created coiled and woven baskets using tree roots, bark, plant stems--and meticulous skill. "From the Hands of a Weaver" presents the traditional art of basket making among the peninsula's Native peoples--particularly women--and describes the ancient, historic, and modern practices of the craft. Abundantly illustrated, this book also showcases the basketry collection of Olympic National Park.
Baskets designed primarily for carrying and storing food have been central to the daily life of the Klallam, Twana, Quinault, Quileute, Hoh, and Makah cultures of Olympic Peninsula for thousands of years. The authors of the essays collected here, who include Native people as well as academics, explore the commonalities among these cultures and discuss their distinct weaving styles and techniques. Because basketry was interwoven with indigenous knowledge and culture throughout history, alterations in the art over time reflect important social changes.
Using primary-source material as well as interviews, volume editor Jacilee Wray shows how Olympic Peninsula craftspeople participated in the development of the commercial basket industry, transforming useful but beautiful objects into creations appreciated as art. Other contributors address poaching of cedar and native grasses, and conservation efforts--contemporary challenges faced by basket makers. Appendices identify weavers and describe weaves attributed to each culture, making this an important reference for both scholars and collectors.
Featuring more than 120 photographs and line drawings of historical and twentieth-century weavers and their baskets, this engaging book highlights the culture of distinct Native Northwest peoples while giving voice to individual artists, masters of a living art form.

The diaries of Fannie Taylor were written from 1914 to 1922 during her time at Mora, a community on the western edge of the Olympic Peninsula, now inside the boundaries of Olympic National Park. These entries have been transcribed from the original writings archived in the collections of Olympic National Park. Featured here are her diary entries of 1914 and 1915, -with few omissions. Fannie operated the store and overnight accommodations and served some meals, while also serving as postmaster at Mora. In her diaries Fannie describes the day to day activities of community life at Mora, and gives vivid descriptions of her homestead at Taylor Point, or the ranche as she called it. She kept a commentary of interactions with road builders, miners, Quileute and non-Indian neighbors, the stage and mail drivers, and the occasional tourist. A few details from her 1914 diary are supplemented with entries from her daughter Tealies journal of that same time. To provide a visual perspective to Fannies words, many of her photographs are included and identified whenever possible. Fannie was an aspiring photographer and her photographs presented along with her journal entries provide a unique portrait of life on the Washington coast in the early 1900s.