Mary Crabb

@crabbbaskets

About

Statement

It’s not easy to define who I am and what I do, as my practice is informed by years of exploring, experiences and curiosity. Throughout my childhood I was always making. However as soon as I made my first willow basket, I knew I had to make more. An introduction to textile basketry and the suggestion to try some different materials took my making in a new direction. I sit on the edge of basketry and textiles, drawing skills from both areas: adapting techniques, enquiring and experimenting. Much of my textile basketry work uses the technique of twining. Twining is very accessible; it doesn’t need a lot of space, expensive equipment, or even materials. You just need a lot of patience and time, as twining is slow. 

Mary and Tedi

CV

Solo Exhibitions

2018
Significant Figures: remembrance through making. Oxmarket Gallery, Chichester.

2012
Willow to Wire, Horsham Museum & Art Gallery

Group Exhibitions

2023 Spring Exhibition. New Ashgate Gallery.

2022 Winter Exhibition. New Ashgate Gallery.

2021 Forces in Translation installation. Ruthin Craft Centre.

2021 Basketry – Rhythm, Renewal & Reinvention. Ruthin Craft Centre.

2021 Warp, weft, stitch, thread. Gallery 57, Arundel, West Sussex.

2020 Elements: wood metal. Gallery57, Arundel, West Sussex.

Publications

2022 The Textile Museum Journal Volume 49 2022. Basketry and Mathematics: Reflections on Curves and Surfaces.
Stephanie Bunn and Ricardo Nemiroksky with the Forces in Translation Research Group, including Mary Crabb, Geraldine Jones, Hilary Burns and Charlotte Megroureche.

2021 Weaving Windmill Loops to Create Surfaces with Varying Curvature. Stephanie Bunn, Mary Crabb, Hilary Burns, Geraldine Jones, Charlotte Megroureche, Ricardo Nemirovsky. The Bridges Organisation 2021.

2020 The Material Culture of Basketry co-edited by S. Bunn and V. Mitchell.

I am a contributing basketmaker writing a chapter in Part Two: Basketry as maths, pattern and engineering – Counting, number, loops and lines…

2020 Making Histories, Sharing Histories: Putting University – Community Collaboration into Practice 

I have contributed ‘Studying Objects’ as a community researcher for the Basketry & Beyond heritage group.