Retired teacher Lois Rainwater spent a lifetime encouraging her students to find the joy in education. Today, in her second career as a contemporary basket artist, she's still teaching. This time, however, it's how to create one of her intricate palm art sculptures.
One of her signature pieces, a king palm blossom stem sculpture, begins as she chooses and soaks a king palm leaf from her large collection of organic ingredients. Lois uses a horse trough and submerges the large palm stalk in water. The stalk soaks for two to three days, after which it is pliable enough to manipulate. Next, using the stem of the palm stalk as a frame, Lois begins the weaving process. This is done by splitting the wide stalk into sections and weaving it an inch at a time. It's a process that can take anywhere from a few days to a week. When crafting the curled ends of the stalk, she uses a "twining stitch"--a process by which the stalk itself is used to form curves and bends. Through continual twining, weaving and pulling at the stalk, Lois gives this natural material a unique sculptural look. The end result is a king palm sculpture that breaks with traditional notions of basketweaving.
In addition to her king palm sculptures, Lois also creates palm leaf baskets, seashell basket sculptures, wallhangings and a variety of other sculptures, all made from palm leaves.
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