SVM Winter Workshop 2: Crafting Kudzu Baskets

105 North Dougherty Street,Black Mountain NC 28711

22 January, 2022

Description

Make freeform kudzu baskets with master basket maker Nancy Basket. The sight of kudzu growing over trees and hillsides is a familiar sight in Southern Appalachia and the South, and though this plant has a less-than desirable reputation, its vines provide the perfect material for basket making. In this workshop, master basket maker Nancy Basket will show participants how to weave free-form kudzu baskets. As participants work, Nancy will also share Cherokee and American Indian stories, providing a fun and educational setting for weaving together local knowledge and native fibers. Materials supplied, and participants will walk away with their own kudzu basket. Cost: $35 for museum members, $45 for non-members. Some fees apply. Location: Black Mountain Public Library- Education Room, 105 N Dougherty St, Black Mountain, NC 28711. Covid Protocol: All events are in person and will take place indoors. Participants are required to wear masks covering the nose and mouth and to distance during the event. Anyone experiencing symptoms of covid-19 or experiencing a possible risk of exposure is asked to stay safe and stay at home!  About the Instructor: Nancy is a recognized master basket maker and teacher of traditional Indigenous basketry designs. For the last 15 years, Nancy has researched and shared her basketry and storytelling skills at Primitive Skills gatherings, Powwows, and through the National Indian Education Association NIEA as a presenter of traditional and contemporary baskets. She has taught basketry workshops in numerous grade schools, retirement communities, colleges and juvenile justice programs. Museums including the Schiele Museum in Gastonia, NC and the Barnwell Museum have purchased her work for displays on indigenous basketry practices, and she has been commissioned by movie companies to produce authentic baskets and mats- including for the film The Last of the Mohicans! Swannanoa Valley Museum & History Center has served the western North Carolina community since 1989 as Buncombe County’s primary museum of general, local history.