A Family of Artists

The family of artists behind this quillbox have mastered their arts through years of hands-on experience and practice. The parents of the Keller family, Walter and Marcella, taught their children the art of quillmaking. Richard Keller is one of the family’s many master quillworkers and has developed his own unique way of doing quillwork. He traps his own porcupines before killing them and inspects their quills. Then he releases them into the wild for a later harvest period. This is better than the alternative of shooting the porcupine first only to find out that most of the quills are too damaged for harvest. Richard specializes in zigzag and scenery boxes. He never takes orders, and only sells the boxes he makes. He enjoys quillwork and often spends an entire day dedicated to each box. He has taught others his art, including his brothers and girlfriend (Keller 1996). Pam Keller, the artist of this particular quillbox, is a white women who married into the family and learned the art.