My name is Marcia Morse Mullins. I live and work in Lakeland, Florida. The vessels and sculptural forms that I create grow from a passion for weaving quality artwork from natural materials.
My journey began in the 1980s, when Mike Sagataw taught me how to select, cut, and prepare a Black Ash tree for splint woven basketry. Mike was a Potawatomi elder with a deep reverence for honoring the ancestors' knowledge. Following his teachings, I honor each felled tree and believe the spirit of an ash tree remains within the forms woven from its wood. Once the splints are prepared, my weaving techniques distinctly separate from those used in Mike's work.
I also studied white oak splint basketry under Connie and Tom McColley in Chloe, WV. Tom challenged me to explore sculptural forms for a full year. Any weaving deemed as falling short of the challenge was destined for the burn pile. Nothing but firewood hit the wood stove and my weaving skills improved exponentially.
Over the past decade or so, a little green beetle called the Emerald Ash Borer has decimated ash populations in North America. Small pockets of black ash still stand, and researchers believe these trees provide hope for the species to survive. Accordingly, I stopped harvesting ash trees and began utilizing Longleaf Pine needles and other plants that grow near my Florida home.
Installations of my work began in 1996 with Branching Out at the Alberta House Gallery in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, an invitational exhibit at the Art Gallery of Algoma (Ontario), and the Oconomowoc (Wisconsin) Festival of the Arts. Since then, my work has been in national exhibitions, invitational fine art shows, printed publications, an Art In the Park installation, and a year-long ArtPOP Street Art billboard representing the fine art produced in Polk County, Florida. In 2018, I presented a basketry seminar at Disney's Epcot International Festival of the Arts.
The mini-documentary below focuses on black ash. It was filmed, directed, and produced by Paul O'Neill as part of his Eye For Art series on Vimeo.
My journey began in the 1980s, when Mike Sagataw taught me how to select, cut, and prepare a Black Ash tree for splint woven basketry. Mike was a Potawatomi elder with a deep reverence for honoring the ancestors' knowledge. Following his teachings, I honor each felled tree and believe the spirit of an ash tree remains within the forms woven from its wood. Once the splints are prepared, my weaving techniques distinctly separate from those used in Mike's work.
I also studied white oak splint basketry under Connie and Tom McColley in Chloe, WV. Tom challenged me to explore sculptural forms for a full year. Any weaving deemed as falling short of the challenge was destined for the burn pile. Nothing but firewood hit the wood stove and my weaving skills improved exponentially.
Over the past decade or so, a little green beetle called the Emerald Ash Borer has decimated ash populations in North America. Small pockets of black ash still stand, and researchers believe these trees provide hope for the species to survive. Accordingly, I stopped harvesting ash trees and began utilizing Longleaf Pine needles and other plants that grow near my Florida home.
Installations of my work began in 1996 with Branching Out at the Alberta House Gallery in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, an invitational exhibit at the Art Gallery of Algoma (Ontario), and the Oconomowoc (Wisconsin) Festival of the Arts. Since then, my work has been in national exhibitions, invitational fine art shows, printed publications, an Art In the Park installation, and a year-long ArtPOP Street Art billboard representing the fine art produced in Polk County, Florida. In 2018, I presented a basketry seminar at Disney's Epcot International Festival of the Arts.
The mini-documentary below focuses on black ash. It was filmed, directed, and produced by Paul O'Neill as part of his Eye For Art series on Vimeo.
Member: National Basketry Organization (US), Basketry Association (UK)