Leon Niehues is a studio basketmaker living and working in Huntsville, Arkansas. His baskets are made from the young white oak trees that grow in his immediate area of the Ozarks. While using traditional splint techniques, he has added innovative ideas, new construction methods, and simple design elements that dramatically change his oak baskets into exciting contemporary pieces. In 2005 he as named an Arkansas Living Treasure by the Arkansas Department of Heritage. His baskets have been feature in the New York times, American Craft Magazine, and Craft Arts International. He exhibits widely throughout the U.S. and his work is included in the Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, Racine Art Museum, Racine Wisconsin, Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, WV, and The White House Craft Collection, Washington, DC.
Image Courtesy of Alan DuBois
Website
http://www.leonniehues.com
