Janine D'Adamo

I make one-of-a-kind baskets using cotton rope, fabric scraps, ribbon, thread, and hand-dyed materials. All of the colored rope is dyed by hand, and I use color intuitively as each piece grows coil by coil on an 85-year-old Singer industrial machine. I’ve been making vessels for over 30 years, working across photography, ceramics, and digital art before returning to fiber. I’m drawn to containers, objects that hold and protect. I work without a set plan, so each basket develops its own form. Recently, my work has become more sculptural and nest-like, exploring ideas of motherhood, protection, and what it means to hold and be held. Using collected materials, I am interested in how repetition, touch, and color carry memory.