Emily Jung Miller

Blue water below and a bright white sail above - the colors of this basket recall days spent on my grandfather's small wooden sailboat, exploring the Maine coast. Wind, salt, and sun.

The Stonington Baskets series is created with potwarp (long lines used to hold lobster traps) gathered on Deer Isle, Maine. I am using "ghost net" washed up on the beaches, as well as recycled rope from the Stonington dump. The town of Stonington at the southern end of Deer Isle is one of Maine's largest lobster fisheries. I spent summers on Deer Isle at my grandparents' home for my entire life. I first learned to make these baskets during a visit to Deer Isle, using my grandmother's sewing machine, inspired by the colorful bits of potwarp I found tangled in the kelp at the shoreline.