Smallest of fifty: abbr

Galusha grew up in Illinois, learning to love the natural world from her outdoorsman father. After high school, she worked and lived in Yellowstone for almost two decades. Galusha met her husband in Yellowstone, and the pair went north to the University of Montana to earn teaching degrees, then farther north to Alaska where they taught at a small school on Evan’s Island in Prince William Sound.

Now retired, Galusha and her husband moved back to Bozeman in 2014, where she can focus on creating.

“It’s nice to have the freedom and time to do this,” Galusha said.

In her home studio, a shelf of dyed needles is within arms reach as she works. Galusha has a travel case, with small bundles of of needles and room for decorative pieces and other supplies. If that’s too much, her husband said she tucks supplies in a gallon plastic bag that can fit in her purse.

Galusha uses two types of pine needles in her work, both nearly a foot long and selected because they retain flexibility. Needles from the long-leaf pine, a species native to the southeast, turn a deep caramel as they dry. Galusha also collects needles from the Apache pine in southern Arizona. As they dry, the Apache pine needles fade into a greenish-tan, allowing Galusha to dye them in a rainbow of colors for her work. Locally, Ponderosa pine needles work for weaving, but they must be soaked to make them more pliable.

“Soaking is an art in itself,” Galusha said, explaining there is a fine line between pliable enough to work with and wet enough to mold.

While not necessary for weaving, Galusha begins each work with what she calls a “center.”

“It can be anything I want,” she said, pulling walnut shells sliced by her father-in-law and pottery pieces made by her sister from a travel case. The center informs the work, with Galusha taking inspiration for color and form from the heart of the piece.

She binds the needles with artificial sinew or waxed Irish linen thread that slides easily along the between them. While moving a sewing needle back and forth to secure the needle coils may not be entertaining to onlookers, and the evenly spaced stitches and intricate patterns maintain incredible consistency, the art is more varied than it seems.

“Every stitch isn’t really the same,” she said. “I think about every stitch. You want to make sure the needle is laid a certain way, make sure it’s still curving up, not going flat.”

Most of the pieces on display in the Artists’ Gallerty are small, under 8 inches in diameter. Galusha said she once made a large basket and later pulled it out of her studio closet, but it was mainly to prove that such a thing was possible. After a certain point, she said the size made its creation feel repetitive.

Galusha said her work now is more art than function.

“I’m always thinking about new ways, new things, new designs,” she said. “I don’t want to get stagnant with it.”

One piece, with swirling sections emanating from two beads at the center recalls a contra dance.

“I think it’s truly different and truly beautiful,” said Anne Danahy, an artist who stopped by the gallery to drop off a painting. “It’s unique… People are fascinated by it.”

Galusha estimates that she has created thousands over the years, each cataloged in a series of binders. While some remain in her collection, Galusha said letting them go has gotten easier over the years, especially when she thinks about where they may have found a home.

“To be able to bring art and maybe some happiness and joy to people, I think it’s great,” Galusha said. “To think that my art is in somebody’s home and they look at it and they might smile or something, that makes me feel really good. That sounds so corny and sappy, but it’s true.”

Galusha shows her work at the Artists’ Gallery, where she will be a featured artist during the Sept. 9 Art Walk, and at 10 Gallery in Livingston. She has a Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ pineneedlebasketsbyLAG/, but closed her Etsy shop because she wants people to interact with the pieces.

“Most people haven’t encountered (pine-needle weaving) before,” Galusha said. “Smell it. Touch it. Realize that it’s solid, that it’s not flimsy at all. It’s going to stick around for a long time. The quality of work in it makes a difference.”

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If You Go ...

The last summer Art Walk is Sept. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit downtownbozeman.org/summerart-walks-2022.

Rachel Hergett for the Chronicle LeeAnn Galusha’s pieces on display Sept. 5 in the Artists’ Gallery.