Ruby´s Palm Art
Author: Ruby & Steve Fergus
Indigenous cultures treat plants with great respect. Viewed as spiritual entities that required nurturing and soothing. A world where a human being was part of, rather than apart from nature. The craft of basketry was born of necessity – containers to gather and store food. Early sapiens mimicked the forms made by the animal and plant weavers in the natural world they lived intimately with.
When I arrived in Costa Rica in 1997, I had been weaving baskets for 15 years. Basketry was a natural extension of my interest in plants through gardening and wild-crafting in my Southern Oregon Coastal forest home.
Through books and museums, I saw the beautiful and functional baskets of the coastal indigenous cultures from Alaska south. I was inspired to learn about the craft of basketry and the plants used for their creation. However, I didn’t restrict myself to the traditional basket-making plants

After learning the basic twinning technique, I began experimenting with the plants I found in my immediate environment – blackberry vines, willow, honeysuckle, and even poison oak. So soon after my partner Steve and I, his elderly parents, and our teenage daughter Katherine moved into the little town of Dominical, we began building our home on a lot bordering the Baru River.
When we took breaks from sanding wood and tiling floors, Steve went out to chase waves, and I began my search for tropical plant parts that I could manipulate into containers, baskets, boxes, and lampshades (needed in my ‘bare-bulbed’, half-finished house). After experimental trial and error, I found the perfect material in the discarded sheaths of various palms – royal, lipstick, navidad, and aracae.
Since these palms weren’t introduced into Costa Rica till the late 1800’s they were not used by the indigenous people in their basketry. These sheaths, shed by the palm, are plentiful, renewable, beautiful, accessible for gathering material.

Besides the fun of riding waves and weaving baskets, we needed to get creative with a plan for generating an income. Not retired and too young for Social Security benefits, we fell into a niche we were suited for – being hosts. The apparent facts pointed the way: I knew how to cook from scratch and improvise, having lived a long way from a grocery store.
Dominical had no vegetarian restaurant options. We had a kitchen and a stove and lots of space filled with a few tables and chairs. We played music and wanted to attract musicians to play with us. Also, since we had no door, ‘Bienvenidos’ looked like our theme. We called ourselves Jazzy’s RiverHouse, named after our newborn granddaughter, a place for music and home-cooked food. A cultural center of sorts. So with the help of my daughter, husband, and young friends, we cooked and presented a 5-course meal every Wednesday night serving up to 45 people until I announced the ‘Last Supper’ 8 years later.
So Jazzy’s RiverHouse continues to be a cultural center – an ample space for palm part weaving classes, musical collaborations, and piano lessons.
If learning to make a container or art object out of this plentiful material called a ‘palm sheath’ interests you, contact me to set up a time and date. Since hands-on work is unique to the human-animal, a craft that employs our hands may be essential to our mental health. I love it, and you may want it, too!

Fall in love in Costa Ballena, Costa Rica Free Travel Guide #97
Ballena Tales is an essential free digital travel guide in Costa Rica,

A LAMA’S JOURNEY IN LATIN AMERICA
Drupon Lama Dorje, a Buddhist Lama of the Drikung Kagyu lineage, embarked on his spiritual journey from a very young age.

Tellmegen, The Power of Genetics, Bahia Ballena Doctors
TellmeGen, a precision medicine study designed to provide personalized healthcare information tailored specifically to your genetic profile.

The future of our paradise in Osa, South Pacific Costa Rica
It is worth discovering this paradise, and we invite you to visit the South Pacific of Costa Rica.

Wellness by the Sea
The intriguing aspect of Wellness by the Sea is that the coastal environment’s impact extends beyond merely calming our minds.

Does saying PURA VIDA change your brain?
When you ask a Tico, “Como le va?” they will invariably answer, “Pura Vida.” We Americans ask, “Hi, how are you” and we invariably get the answer, “Fine, thank you.” What’s the difference?

The jungle is a perilous place for eyes – Handicapped Wildlife
Handicapped wildlife: Going blind or losing body parts is very dangerous for many animals in the jungle. Others can continue to live normally.
What to do, Where to eat and Where to stay…
South Pacific Costa Rica Beaches
Looking for business directories, maps or other printouts? We’ve got that too!
Dare to Discover and Enjoy…
Check out…
Need help planning your next trip to Costa Rica? We look forward to help you!
Email: carlos@ballenatales.com
Phone: +(506) 8946 7134 or +(506) 8914 1568