Camas Basket

Inspired by a Kalapuya burden basket & blue camas, a food staple of these local Native Americans, this metaphoric basket is a contemporary sentinel providing an historical cultural reference which celebrates the past history & present landscape of the Willamette Valley.

Sited on the northwest side of the Whilamut Passage Bridge, which marks the transition from fertile valley to foothills, the perforated steel camas flowers appear to be swaying in the breeze. The blossoms were hand-painted with shades of saturated blue, violet & lavender to appear even more dimensional.

The basket-in-progress is held aloft by segmented “reeds” of galvanized pipe. The S-twist twining and graphic band common in Kalapuya basket weaving add to the authenticity of a sturdy basket that would have been worn on the back to collect camas bulbs during harvest.

Silhouetted against the light, the tilt of the basket & gracefully irregular configuration of the stems stretching to the sun create a totally different, dynamic image from each direction including the popular Alton Baker Park below.