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Securing Weaving. In this step, Peter secures the finished weaving with a simple knot. The rough, unwoven parts of the broom straw base are cut off using a bread knife.
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Flattening. Brooms come in round and flat shapes. For our camera, Peter chose to create a flat , sweeping end that is more typical of a modern broom. Peter flattens the broom by jumping on it. A vice...
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Like many traditional crafts, brooms are functional items that have beautiful and thought-provoking qualities. Weaving and sewing techniques attach the broom straw to the handle, while allowing Peter...
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Native Americans called it "tree hair." French colonists changed it to "Barbe espagnole," or "Spanish Beard," to ridicule the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Spanish moss survives as its common name...
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Peter obtains many of his broom handles by collecting driftwood from rivers. Whitewater rivers of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge may yield rhododendron and dogwood, while the flat meandering rivers of...
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The Boozer family's move from the midlands of South Carolina to its coast was a bit of a homecoming. In 1734, Tom's ancestors emigrated from Germany to the Charleston area, where they worked as...
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Peter is a physical education professor at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches canoeing and kayaking as a healthy pursuit and a fun way to enjoy nature. In this video, we take a trip to...
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Decoy makers use field guides, photographs, and duck mounts as references for painting their decoys. Tom mixes ordinary house paints to achieve the unique colors of many species of waterfowl. After...
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One theory suggests that the traditional American broom has its origins in Benjamin Franklin's beaver skin hat. In the late 1700s, Franklin received a whiskbroom from France, purchased by a friend who...