Linda Yamane’s Basket Transformed into a Striking Mosaic Mural

With a 2009 grant from the Creative Work Fund, California Indian Basketweaver Linda Yamane collaborated with the Big Sur Land Trust to create an Ohlone presentation basket. The artist is of Rumsien Ohlone heritage — the Native Californians of the Monterey area. Yamane and other basketweavers predicted that no such basket had been created in California for some 250 years. The finished work, which features a striking pattern of red and white feathers and accents of abalone and olivella shells, is extraordinary.

Now, mosaic artist Susanne Takehara has created and installed a mural of Yamane’s basket in East Oakland. Linda Yamane comments on Takehara’s work, “She worked so meticulously to convey the olivella beads, feathers, and stitches in tile — it’s just amazingly beautiful. The abalone pendants are rendered with iridescent glass, along with some actual abalone shell pieces. It’s truly a beauty and I thank her so much for her warm heart, vision, dedication, and desire to honor Ohlone culture.”