KAROL LINDQUIST

By Karen T. Butler

We’ve all heard Shakespeare’s famous line, “What’s past is prologue.” That is certainly true for Nantucket lightship basket maker Karol Lindquist.

Karol is a second-generation Nantucketer and refers to herself as a traditional basket maker. For her, basketmaking encompasses feeling spiritually connected to and influenced by the earliest Nantucket lightship basket makers. These early makers created what she refers to as “work baskets,” mostly made of oak and utilitarian in nature.

Karol made her first Nantucket lightship basket while working with Reggie Reed, a self-described “laborer” who repaired baskets, made parts for other makers, and invented several devices to improve the process of basketmaking. She met him in the mid-1970s. He was initially reluctant to work with her, but he later realized he knew her relatives and finally agreed to allow her into his shop to train.

As Karol states it, Reggie did not teach her. Karol learned from Reggie by watching his every move as he crafted parts for lightship baskets. Reggie often reminded her, “You have to be thinking all the time about what you are doing and what’s going to be your next step.” For Karol, this all-encompassing thought process leads to learning all the time. Karol also learned various basketmaking techniques from several contemporary basket makers to improve her basketmaking skills.

Karol is drawn to traditional baskets and emulates their classic forms when creating her own baskets. For Karol, the early baskets stand alone for their simplicity and well-thought-out symmetry. These are qualities she aims to create, too. She sees the traditional baskets as beautiful, not needing a lot of ivory and other fancy decoration to adorn them.

Learning the craft of basketmaking from various basket makers has been a trend over many generations on the island. Karol learned from Reggie Reed, who took lessons from Bill Sevrens. Bill Sevrens was an apprentice to basket maker Mitchie Ray, who taught José Formoso Reyes, and the list continues. It is a web of influences, and the passing down of coveted techniques has helped keep the craft alive today.

Karol feels very connected to the Nantucket lightship basket lineage and is proud and happy to be part of it. As she sits in her workshop and talks of her love of traditional baskets, one can feel her pride in being part of a history unique to Nantucket.