Erica Nelson Menard, Penobscot
Brown ash and sweetgrass basketmaker
Freeport, ME
Erica was introduced to traditional brown ash and sweetgrass basketmaking by her grandmother, Philomene Saulis Nelson, who she would watch prepare materials in her home on Indian Island. Later, an apprenticeship with her mentor and cousin, Theresa Secord, gave Erica an opportunity to reconnect with basketmaking.
Using her grandmother’s molds, Erica creates ancestral designs based on the Penobscot-style baskets produced by her grandmother and her cousin. Erica’s baskets include ash and sweetgrass boxes, sweetgrass flats, and other baskets with braided sweetgrass in the Nelson family style. For Erica, each basket she creates connects her with her grandmother and this traditional art form.
Erica’s work has been showcased in various exhibitions, including the Portland Museum of Art and the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine. Erica has done art basket demonstrations for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.
