Jane Chavez's Biography

Considering the detail, precision and the natural materials of Jane Chavez’ horsehair baskets, one may not be completely surprised that she received science and education degrees and spent thirty years teaching secondary sciences in the Santa Fe Public Schools. 

Chavez has been connected to the land of the Southwest and has owned and loved horses since childhood.  Her passion for baskets goes back to her early childhood years in Argentina where she loved the horse drawn carts piled high with baskets for sale. 

Exposure to the traditional baskets of the Southwest and her long-time love of the art of basketry began to bloom in 1993 when friends and family encouraged her to pursue this art form herself.  She taught for another ten years before devoting herself to making horsehair baskets full-time.

Chavez signature horsehair and hand-stamped sterling silver baskets have received a Trademark Design from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  This protects the integrity of the artwork associated with her name.

“My art reveals a personal interpretation of multicultural interests and my environment.  The baskets are contemporary in nature and traditional in materials.  I use a coiled basketry technique with creative designs and imaginative sterling silver metal work.  The baskets’ shapes vary, depending on the original hand-stamped sterling silver which serves as the base for the horsehair bundles.”

Chavez participated in the juried exhibition at the Museum of New Mexico, Fiber Arts Festival of Traditional Cultures of the Southwest in Santa Fe, New Mexico from 1999 to 2003, winning the first place award in the Contemporary Mixed Media Basketry category each year.  She was invited to place her work in National Basketry Organization juried exhibitions of 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2009.  For several years her work was included in a traveling exhibition, which originated at the Arizona State University Art Museum, titled Intertwined: Contemporary Baskets from the Sara and David Lieberman Collection.  Her work was shown in the 2007 Structural Objects and Functional Arts (SOFA) exhibition in Chicago.  In 2008, the Santa Fe Arts Commission selected two of Chavez’ baskets for the permanent art collection at the new Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

Articles on Chavez and her baskets have been in SouthwestArt, American Cowboy, Western Art Collector, and the National Basketry Organization magazines.  The Crafts Report and Fiberarts magazines have written about her baskets and her pursuit of a trademark design.

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