Twined Flower Basket - Holding Place

Materials: Copper wire
Dimensions: 1" x 2"

This design was really an attempt to stretch my skills and grow my ability to shape baskets and explore using warp wires in untraditional ways. A mistake in calculation caused me to have two extra warps which became the tendrils seen here and ended up adding more interest to the design than if I had made it correctly. Many people see an octopus arising out of the vessel and it certainly has a gratifying lively quality.

Mary Tucker
Agoura Hills, CA. USA

My back ground is in mechanical engineering so I am accustomed to designing parts with metal. For the last 3 years I have been laboring to develop and discover my artistic side using wire as my medium.

I’ve noticed that I delight in synthesizing opposites as often as I can. For example, woven textures mixed with clean bare wire, or neatly constructed craftsmanship mixed with organic play. This is best seen in the example of the Witch Queen. Bringing together these opposing views and wire methodologies brings me the most satisfaction when I am able to achieve it. As a child I was enchanted by miniatures so I my work tends to be small in scale.


These containers and vessels definitely hold their place in the world of stunning art objects as well as in the world of metalsmithing.

Since the dawn of time humans have created containers to hold things that were important to them, from large vessels to hold food and harvests to intimate containers for small precious things. They might hold memories, ashes, medicine, beverage, fruit or food - but all spring from the imagination and skill of the maker. Some have specific religious functions, some are meant for everyday use. When one thinks of a vessel or container the inclination is to think of something with solid walls - yet many of these works involve the exploration of positive and negative space, and the use of negative space to help create the illusion of the wall of the vessel.

As the world’s largest jewelry related internet site, Ganoksin strives to develop exhibitions showcasing work from around the world. This exhibition was open to all metalsmiths, professional and amateur, advanced and beginner. Participants are from The Netherlands, the USA, Canada, Australia, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Colombia, Romania, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia and Denmark. While most of the pieces are by an individual metalsmith, some are collaborations, one of three artists spanning 50 years.

In total 319 artists contributed 729 show pieces for the permanent online exhibition.

Objects in the exhibition include boxes, lockets, urns, ash containers, bowls, wine cups, reliquaries, match holders, vases, teapots, pitchers, sugar bowls, baskets, nests, pillboxes, clutches and a range of sculptural forms. A variety of techniques are showcased covering a wide range of metalsmithing techniques. Materials used include everything from gold and silver to less expensive metals. Ornamentation includes the addition of enamel, chasing and repousse’, gemstones and found objects.

The exhibition was curated by Beth Wicker, President of the North Carolina Society of Goldsmiths in the United States, and Adjunct Instructor at Northeastern Technical College in South Carolina. Director of the exhibition is Hanuman Aspler, founder of The Ganoksin Project, the world’s largest internet jewelry site.