Western Carolina University WCU University of North Carolina Asheville UNCA

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WCU - Craft Revival

Basket: honeysuckle, handled

  • wcu_craft_revival-6031.jpg
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  • This undated basket was made by Cherokee basket weaver Lucy George. The basket is honeysuckle woven over white oak splints with two carved drop handles attached to the base. A small handled basket such as this one can be used as a purse. Larger handled baskets such as these are sometimes called shoppers. The walnut-dyed honeysuckle is brown; the fainter orange is from bloodroot. Both plants, used by Cherokee basket weavers to make dye, are native to the region. This basket won a first place ribbon in 1975. Lucy Nola George 1897-1978) was raised in the Birdtown community on the Qualla Boundary. In a departure from traditional Cherokee ways of learning, Lucy George did not learn basket making from mother. In the 1930s, as a grown woman, she learned the craft from Julia Taylor. She developed her own methods, weaving baskets from honeysuckle. She also taught others and demonstrated her craft.

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Craft Revival

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mountain craftsmen formed the cornerstone of a revived interest in things handmade to create a movement known as the Craft Revival. During the Revival...

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