Thread 2941711

>Sources:
https://www.underwaterbasketweaving.org/
https://the-mannings.com/underwater-basket-weaving/
https://github.com/snayrouz/little-shop
>News:
https://thetacomaledger.com/2019/04/01/uwt-announces-plans-to-offer-underwater-basket-weaving-degree/

>Why underwater basket weaving?
Basketry, itself, is a time-intensive and physical process - where art meets sport. Underwater basket weaving takes the aspects of physicality and aesthetics to the extreme - techniques used in UBW cannot be created with terrestrial basketcraft, due to being submerged in liquid for the entire process, and the pressure of the water itself. It's fun, it's exercise, and is a misunderstood, niche art that many misunderstand but few have the courage to perform.
>I read the links - where do I meet other UWBWabs?
https://educationusa.state.gov/your-5-steps-us-study/research-your-options/community-college

Post underwater baskets, discuss underwater baskets

I have a lot of timothy hay growing near my creek, and I'd like to weave it in the water there, but I've never done any freshwater baskets - let alone flowing ones. It's a fairly slow creek, so I'm not super worried about my fibers floating away, but I don't have much experience with anything cleaner than brackish water. I know that the salt and other solubles allow for finer designs, but I'm still a moderate-beginner (3 years weaving underwater, 8 years overall) - are there any advantages to weaving in a flow, and are there techniques and patterns particularly suited to creekweaving?

>"Underwater basket weaving is the principal industry of the employables among the 94 Eskimos here. By way of explanation – the native reeds used in this form of basketry are soaked in water and the weavers create their handiwork with their hands and raw materials completely submerged in water throughout the process of manufacture."
>The American Philatelist, 1956

Eskimos are fucking based. Has anyone here woven with any 'skeemies?

What's the point of using a tank to weave when you're like 5 feet below the surface? Are these guys just huge pussies, or too ADD to snorkel? I've seen some pretty fucking cool deepwater baskets but idk why you'd shell out the thousands of dollars just to weave in the kiddie pool.

>>2941714
Good luck with that. If they're like any of the natives I've woven with, they're more likely to be weaving in a bottle of liquor than a pool of water.

>>2941713
Try a small basket to see how the technique works. I've done some willow near the ponds they grow by, and if the only difference is the inspiration of the setting, it still makes its way into the basket. You can tell a basket that was made as a "work" job from a passion project pretty easily.

>>2941719
>solutes in the water don't do anything to underwater fibers
post one basket you've made so I can see all the fractures and bends

>>2941721
I literally got the bends once after deep weaving off the coast of Patagonia. Never gonna make that mistake again.

What's the best water to weave cedar in? I want it to smell cool, and I like the idea of seawater scent infused with the wood, but will that leech the terpenes to the point where it just smells like a beach?

>>2941715
Certain fibres are temperamental when it comes to both pressure and movement. Heavier stuff? Makes zero difference, just get a snorkel. But if you've ever tried deepwater silk weaves, you're fucked if you have to go up for air at any point.

What's a good beginner basket / material? I'm new to weaving and idk if I should start dry or wet

>>2941740
Wet is a lot safer. With dry materials an unskilled unsuspecting journeyman may start a conflagration. Stay safe, stay underwater.

>>2941746
You're right about the fact that rubbing a bunch of flammable material together as an absolute newbie is hazardous, but I think people should start out dry in order to appreciate how much better it is when you take things sub-marine. It's like learning how to shred solos on an acoustic guitar before switching to electric - underwater is much easier and much more forgiving, but learning dry first develops technique. Not always, and there are absolutely phenomenal weavers that started wet, and some not so phenomenal weavers who lit themselves up like a protesting Buddhist monk by going too dry, too quick.
Underwater basket weaving, if compared to a sport, would be a blood sport. Anyone who is producing quality underwater baskets is someone who didn't take themselves out while getting that good.

>>2941740
Honestly? Start with toothpicks and your bathroom sink, so that you get the feel of it, and learn a couple of basic weaves with 2-3 pieces. Once you're comfortable with the overhand, onsie, and try-tie - which can take weeks - move up to bamboo skewers. From there, practice, practice, practice. Try a little straw, and a little balsa, to see which direction you want to move in - softer fibres like straw, rye, etc are like jazz, you can be all over the place, but it won't be forgiving, and you might wind up with absolute nonsense. Wood is more like oil painting. You plan, you work into the material, you rest, you look at what you did and decide to change it, repeat 100x, and that can take forever.
If you just want to start producing quickly, STICK TO PATTERNS (I cannot stress this enough) and work on one thing - thimbles and thumbresters are popular. From there, move to something like a pencilgrip or start learning how to chain, depending on what kind of weaving you intend to get into later.
Baskets, themselves, are like sushi. Japanese chefs study the rice for years before they even get close to sashimi. You need to study your weaves heavily before embarking on your first basket. Going from no experience at all to a basket takes probably 3-4 years of practice, and your first one WILL suck. Don't expect to make something on the level of a Baltazar or a Merrymound on your first go. That takes a lifetime of basketweaving to get close to that level of artisanship.
Second bit of advice: start practicing holding your breath above water for a few months and then ease into your capacity below. Work towards realistically being able to do 5 minutes at 20 foot depth within your first year. Keep this practice separate from your handwork at first, so that you can put your full focus on one thing at a time before combining them.
Finally: just keep doing it. I know the learning curve is insanely daunting, and UBW is an endless rabbithole.

>A tisket, a tasket
>My nigga made a basket
>My dick tastes like chapstick
>Your bitch made of plastic

How the FUCK do I do an italic strip? I've tried about a hundred times on a cherry that's near my property, and it comes out obtuse every time. When I try to weave with those strips - in saline, fresh, mintwater, ethanol dilute - my baskets come out looking like pregnant goats. Retarded pregnant goats. Is it a temperature thing??? I haven't read anything about underwater stripping - is that the trick?
>waah my basket doesn't work
>add more water
>it works

>>2941725
Presoak with boiled and filtered seawater, but use just enough to cover the fibers. Cover the fibers with a wet towel and reduce the soak by about 90% - a vacuum works great for this, because you can get it boiling at room temp without actually heating it, which will fuck with your terpenes, esters, etc. For the weave, 1 gallon distilled water to 1 tablespoon kosher salt, mixed with the soaking liquid extract, somewhere around 75 degrees centigrade. This will give you the best cedar "punch" and will still give you that ocean smell without being overpowering or difficult to work with.

Finally finished my first basket. I stripped from some woody plant that was taking up my yard and wove it at about 5 feet, saltwater swimming pool with a snorkle. How's it look?

>>2941792
whoops forgot pic

>>2941793
Well, it looks "rustic". I'm assuming the weird angles weren't intentional, and I'd say it was probably a temperature issue, but apparently you don't know what you used, just a "woody plant in your yard". Not bad for a first try, just don't keep anything nice in there.