Basket Series

This series of monotypes – a single, unique printed impression made from a plate – explore baskets and their particular, woven forms. Schmidt’s interest in the subject originated in an earlier book project, based on the German fairy tale Fitcher’s Bird. In the story, the basket symbolizes the malicious entrapment of a girl, and later in the story, her clever escape. Schmidt’s musings on the vessel’s physical characteristics led her to explore various baskets, using Akua inks to make layered viscosity monotypes. The strategies of printmaking, such as layering and multiplicity, used with these new materials, provide a way for Schmidt to animate the familiar basket forms.