Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
John Derrick explains why learning to split wood is the most difficult aspect of basket making.
Barbara McCormick
Basketry
Basketmaking in South Carolina reflects the blending of Native American, European and African traditions to create two predominate types of baskets - the coiled baskets of the Lowcountry and woven baskets of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge. Native Americans used river cane to plait baskets, mats and fish traps. Europeans maintained Old World techniques and forms, adapting them to new materials like white oak to weave their harvest baskets and clothes hampers. On the coast, enslaved Africans brought their knowledge of rice production and introduced coiled basketry using local sweetgrass, bulrush, palmetto, and pine needles. Today, traditional basketmakers have adapted their forms to a changing market and most baskets are made for decorative use.
Content is provided by McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina.
For further information about any of the artists featured on Digital Traditions, send your questions and comments to hallagan@mailbox.sc.edu.
More in this Series
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Derrick judges by the length of the wood what size to make a basket.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
John Derrick talks about why his baskets are unique.
Photo
Grades
- Higher Education
A native of Leesville (Lexington County), Derrick came from a long line of basketmakers. His grandfather, William Derrick, farmed and made baskets in the Saluda River bottoms where Lake Murray is...
Photo
Grades
- Higher Education
Brown was no stranger to sweetgrass basketmaking. She was part of a family of eight generations of basket makers, with four of those generations still practicing today. Harriet made baskets for over...
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten Florence Mazyck discusses the amount of time it takes for bulrush to dry.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten Florence Mazyck talks about why she prefers weaving with bulrush.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten Florence Mazyck talks about who helps her gather her sweet grass.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten Florence Mazyck discusses the variety of natural materials that can be used for the baskets.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
1
Franklyn De Loach shares how the baskets were used according to their sizes.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
2
Franklin De Loach shares how the tradition of basketmaking was passed down in his family.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
3
Franklyn De Loach talks about the process of putting baskets together, from the bottom on up.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
4
Franklyn De Loach shares the details on getting the wood to make split-oak baskets.
Photo
Grades
- Higher Education
Elbert Brown of Pendleton crafted split-oak baskets for over eighty years. He carried on a tradition that has been in his South Carolina upcountry family since the mid-nineteenth century. Brown...
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Billy Hammond and his wife Mary offer some biographical information.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Hammond recalls how he began making smaller baskets after retiring
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Hammond recalls how he began making smaller baskets after retiring.
Photo
Grades
- Higher Education
Grover "Billy" Hammond, a native of Clarks Hill in McCormick County, exemplified the important craft of split-oak basketmaking in South Carolina. The thin strips – or splits – that can be riven from...
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
1
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten In this interview, Barbara McCormick talks about the places she goes to find the materials she uses to make baskets
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
2
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten Barbara McCormick talks about where the material they use for their baskets grows.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
3
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten Barbara McCormick talks about the different basketmakers and their unique styles.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
4
Interviewed by Dale Rosengarten Barbara McCormick describes a decker basket.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
1
When he started making baskets and why.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
1
Sue Middleton explained that men would help their wives make baskets.
