For more than thirty years, Tulalip artist Lance Taylor has transformed cedar, cherry bark, and grasses into finely woven hats, baskets, and other works. From harvesting and preparing the fibres to completing each intricate form, every stage reflects an intimate knowledge of his materials. Taylor is equally committed to ensuring the tradition continues, sharing his expertise through demonstrations, workshops, and teaching within the Tulalip community.

The body of the present work is woven in broad, flat cedar strips using an open checkerwork (plain plaiting). Rather than the tightly twined cedar-root baskets of many Coast Salish makers, Taylor has deliberately left the structure legible. Along the upper band, natural and vividly dyed grasses wrap the upright cedar strips, transforming the basket’s broad, architectural plaiting into a more delicate pictorial passage. Within it, two figures travel in a distinctly Coast Salish canoe, the scene seeming to glide across the basket’s surface.