Basket with Utensils
This basket and assortment of practical utensils, including a thatch bristle brush, spotlight the various functional uses of silver thatch products in everyday Caymanian life. The complexity of these particular objects asks us to consider craft not only as a vital economic process but also as an elevated form of artistic expression. These types of objects continue to be produced for the heritage and commercial sectors, embodying long-practiced skills that have been passed on from one generation to the next.
About the Artist
Marlena Anglin
b. 1933
Born in West Bay, Grand Cayman, Marlena Anglin learned thatching from her mother and soon became a highly skilled rope maker and weaver of baskets, hats, and other items. She is an active member of the Cayman Islands Traditional Arts Council, creating work for festivals and heritage days as well as teaching crafts to local schoolchildren. She regularly featured in the NGCI annual festival Art@Governor’s and has participated in the NGCI exhibitions 21st Century Cayman exhibition in 2010, Revive: Contemporary Caymanian Craft (2017), Island of Women: Life at Home During our Maritime Years (2020), The People’s Collection: A 25-Year Legacy (2022), and The Ties that Bind (2022).
