Artisan
A Shared Passion
Husband and wife express creativity through their own unique projects
By Tracy Panzer
Photography by Noel Kline
Sitting in the living room of her Civil War-era farmhouse, feet wedged between her couch and coffee table, Joh Ricci delicately balances a form between her knees. Fiber, often hand-dyed into a one-of-a-kind color, hangs from the soon-to-be basket that is being lit by an overhead table lamp.
The final piece is days from completion and won’t look like most baskets displayed in households throughout the country.
It’s contemporary basketry, an art form that many admire yet few have mastered.
“I’ve always enjoyed the intimacy of very small, meticulous work,” Ricci says. “I use nature and everything around me as inspiration. I like to look through magazines, at shapes and at the works of other artists for ideas about color.”
Ricci’s baskets are defined as delicate and masterful, colorful and thought provoking. Her finished piece is fabricated by knotting fiber and features minimal surface to house product. Instead, her baskets are often found displayed on a wall.
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