Tapered Basket

Isabel Rorick was born in 1955 and raised in her ancestral home of Old Masset on Haida Gwaii. In 1974 at the age of 19, Isabel began learning traditional methods of basket weaving and the gathering of materials. Isabel Rorick comes from a long line of weavers, including her great-grandmother Isabella Edenshaw; her grandmother, Selina Peratrovich; her mother, Primrose Adams, and her Aunt, Delores Churchill. In 1982 Isabel made her first hat under the tutelage of her mother. Rorick’s work was included in “Topographies: Aspects of Recent British Columbia Art” at the Vancouver Art Gallery and in “Native Vision” at the Seattle Art Museum. She is among the most renowned weavers of her time capable of weaving very fine patterns traditional to her lineage and cultural heritage.

Using the Haida language of form, Isabel incorporates many traditional designs into her baskets and hats like that of the dragonfly, raven’s tail and spider web or slug trail. In recent years she has studied hat and basket collections in provincial and national museums across Canada and the United States.

Isabel’s work can be found in many private collections, as well as museums, including the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Royal British Columbia, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, New York State Historical Association, and the British Museum in London, England.

Awards:

2009 Recipient of BC Achievement Foundation Award