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Carrie Stewart and Gerald Stewart, Louisville, Winston County. Interview recorded June 1981. Gerald Stewart came from a deeply rooted family potting tradition. By 1888, his father Homer Wade Stewart...Digital Traditions
General - Traditional Arts
Home to a wealth of folk traditions, South Carolina is culturally and geographically diverse. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Sea Islands and from rural crossroads to urban centers, the state boasts rich sources of traditional culture and folklore. Rooted in family and community activities, folklife involves expressive forms of many kinds that are communicated verbally and by observation or imitation. Folk artists can learn through apprenticeships, but most often are taught informally by family members or close friends. This sharing of information can occur in many different group settings - familial, occupational, religious, social, and educational. Folklife is dynamic by nature, a part of a community's history that continues to develop every day, with every generation.
Digital Traditions was developed to provide access to the Folklife Resource Center (FRC) at McKissick Museum. For thirty years, deeply rooted traditions like quilting, pottery, basketry, communal foodways, and folk music have been documented through audio, video, and photography. For further information about any of the artists featured on Digital Traditions, send your questions and comments to hallagan@mailbox.sc.edu.
Within this Series
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Eugene Pottery, Cowpens, Cherokee County. Interview recorded June 2007 as the Folklife Resource Center continues to document pottery traditions in South Carolina. Winton Eugene is a self-taught potter...Audio
Otis Norris, Sandhills Pottery, McBee, Chesterfield County. Interview recorded May 2007. A Kershaw County native, Otis Norris has been turning pots at his current location in Chesterfield County since...Audio
Oscar Smith, Lawley, Perry County. Interview recorded June 1981. Norman Smith began working in the family pottery in 1920 and opened his own shop in 1932 a few miles away. Arguably one of the most...Photo
Marie Gooden married into a potting family and was given informal instruction in shop operations and the nuances of turning by her husband, Horace Rogers. After his death in 1962, Marie decided to...Photo
The Outens had been in the pottery business since the 1870s, working in both North and South Carolina. Kenneth Outen inherited the family's pottery in the town of Matthews, east of Charlotte, from his...Audio
Hewell Pottery, Gillsville, Banks County. Interview recorded with family members in June 1981. The Hewell family potting dynasty began with Nathaniel H. Hewell (1832-1887). For years, the Hewell...Photo
Since the retirement of his father, the family pottery has been managed by this fourth generation potter. This Alabama potting dynasty was founded by Abraham Miller, who arrived in the region shortly...Audio
Elizabeth Ringus, Paw Print Pottery Barnwell, Barnwell County. Interview recorded June 2007. Liz Ringus has been turning pots for over 36 years. A native of Massachusetts, Ringus and her husband Paul...Audio
Richard Blackwell discusses the farm, the livestock, and growing what the family needed to eat.