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R.C. Hagan talks about how he makes baskets.
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.
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He also enjoys making hash out of deer and pork.
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Mabel Hagan Is an accomplished quilter. She is pictured with a “Save All” quilt. The rop was made by her grandmother and was given to her as a wedding present. Five or six years later, she and her...
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R.C. Hagan talks about how his mother made soap out of meat scraps and ashes.
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R.C. talks about the way he prepares and cooks venison (deer meat).
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R.C. Hagan explains how taxidermists preserve deer heads.
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R.C. Hagan talks about cooking possum.
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- Higher Education
As a youngster, Jeannette Lee learned the art of sweetgrass basket making from her mother and grandmother. The activity was an essential part of her childhood, and often provided a significant portion...
