Important dates often mean days that have marked peak moments in our lives—wedding date, birth dates for our children, deaths of our parents and close friends. For me there are several other dates that I celebrate because they changed my life. One was certainly finding my first basketry class in Spring 1972—California farm girl learns to weave baskets at the Craft Students’ League on 8th Avenue in New York City! Another would be my purchase of the book, How to Wrap Five Eggs and the exposure that book gave me to traditional Japanese packaging, the inspiration for much of my work to this day. My first trip to Japan in 1986 changed my life forever, introducing me to the world of Japanese bamboo and basketry with an intimacy I had not anticipated. Inspired by that trip and many that followed, the publication of my book, Bamboo in Japan, with a Japanese publisher, Kodansha International, in Spring 2001 marked the culmination of years of research in Japan, Hawaii, and New York City.
Somehow all of those influences—basketry, Japan, Japanese packaging, bamboo—merged into one career of almost forty years, in which no part stands alone. What an interesting life it is turning out to be.
I invite you to visit my website, www.nancymoorebess.com.