“This Mortal Coil” is part of Suzanne’s Entanglement Series.
Symmetrical and asymmetrical basket coiling combine with found and forged elements in this 2025 work by Tanglewood’s resident artist Suzanne Louise Roush-Coleman.
Suzanne describes this work in the text below.
I coiled this flat coiled piece, with no shaping or papering. The core is commercial seagrass cordage. I began wrapping with waxed linen thread alone. Then started adding various threads and cords to the wrap, always using at least one waxed linen cord for stability.
The eccentric coils on the perimeter are a continuation from the body of the piece; they were not added in afterwards. To accomplish this, on the last round of attached coiling, I inserted the metal washers as I placed the wraps. After that round was complete and secured firmly to the coil below, I began wrapping the seagrass core with the dark red waxed linen. However, instead of periodically stitching the wrapped coil to the round below, I passed the wrapped coil through a metal washer, using every other washer. Then on the second time around, I passed the wrapped coil through the remaining washers and also wound that wrapped coil around the wrapped coil in the row below.
Embellishments: pewter button, hammered copper leaves, brass & copper washers.
Diameter: 10 inches
With gratitude and acknowledgements to my basketry tutors Lissa Hunter and Nadine Spier