Fran Kraynek-Prince

Francina and Neil Prince

The Princes are known for creating baskets from the needles of the Torrey Pine of California. Their distinct basketry technique is informed by the traditional longleaf pine-needle baskets created by indigenous groups such as the Cherokee, Coushatta, and Choctaw peoples. Responding to the natural materials, the artists used the color gradation The Princes' method of sewing needles vertically up the sides is also used by Native Americans for making pine-needle baskets. The Native-American artisans neatly tucked the ends away, but the Princes let theirs stick out in a pattern of rhythmic projections. Thus, visible structure becomes an important dynamic of design.