Raising Cane

There’s no better way for this Ohio guidance counselor to relax than by winding up reeds.

A-tisket, a-tasket, not many guidance counselors weave baskets. But Carolyn Abbey of Wellington High School in Ohio “fell in love with the art” after seeing a basket a friend had made. “I have knitted, cross-stitched, done some physical activities,” she says, “and I have never done anything I’ve enjoyed more than this.”

Her hobby has put her in connection with fellow basket makers and instructors from all over the world, through weaving classes and conferences. Abbey teaches the occasional class, too, for middle school students, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and even steel workers at a local plant. Some of her creations are small enough to be worn as necklaces and earrings, and others are so large, “you could probably sit down in one,” she says. Typically, Abbey uses reed and cane, although her favorite basket is a mixed media artwork made of reed, copper wire, and handmade paper. Delicate materials aside, the baskets are far from flimsy. “Unless something’s done to destroy them, they should last a person’s lifetime or even through generations,” she says.                 

—NADINE SIMPSON