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McKissick Museum will offer a workshop series this spring for adults highlighting four southeastern traditional crafts: applied and pieced quilting, Gullah grass dolls, traditional wood carving, and sweetgrass basketmaking. Participants will learn basic techniques from masters of their trade while creating a functional piece of art.
The workshops will begin in April in conjunction with the McKissick Museum exhibit, "Considerable Grace: Fifteen Years of the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards."
"The workshops are a great opportunity to learn about the many cultural and material traditions still thriving in the South," said Alice Bouknight, curator of educational programs and organizer of the series.
"The museum has offered workshops of this nature in the past and the response was very good, and we're starting up the series again. It is my hope that we can continue to offer three to four workshops each year," Bouknight said. "In the coming years we'd like to offer workshops in split oak basketry, lye soap making, furniture painting, chair caning, tatting, kudzu paper making, lace making, and cane carving, to name a few."
Workshops being offered at McKissick Museum this spring are:
- April 26 Applique and Pieced Quilting, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., $45.
This workshop is designed for those who have never quilted as well as experienced quilt makers seeking to learn a new technique. Instructor is Maree Dowdey, who has been very active as an educator of traditional crafts, teaching special folk art workshops in the public schools and continuing education courses at USC. Class size is limited to 20. Cost of $45 includes a picnic lunch. Registration deadline is April 18.
- May 17 Gullah Grass Dolls, 10 a.m.–noon, $25.
This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to learn this very old Gullah tradition. Participants will leave this class with a finished doll to treasure for years to come. The grass will be provided. Instructor is Vermelle Rodrigues, who learned to make grass dolls from her mother, who learned from her mother, who probably learned from her mother. Class size is limited to 20. Registration deadline is May 9.
- Sept.13 Basic Wood Carving, 1–5 p.m., $35.
This workshop is designed to introduce beginning wood carvers to the art as well as teach new techniques to seasoned carvers. Participants will finish the day with a hand carved wooden spoon. Participants will work with 18th- and 19th- century tools, including hatchets, draw knives, and gouges. Fresh cherry, peach, and plum woods from South Carolina will be provided. Right-handed participants should bring a leather left-hand glove; left-handed participants should bring a right-hand glove. Instructor is Ike Carpenter, a third generation woodcarver, cabinet-maker, and carpenter. Class size is limited to 12. Registration deadline is Sept. 5.
- Oct. 18 Sweetgrass Basketmaking, 1–5 p.m., $35.
This workshop is designed to introduce participants to the basic construction methods of making a sweetgrass basket, an art that has been passed from generation to generation for over 300 years. Participants will make a small basket by the end of class. Participants should bring their own scissors. All other materials will be provided by the instructor. Instructor is Mary Graham-Grant, who apprenticed with a McClellanville basketmaker in 1990 and has been leading workshops for years. Class size is limited to 12. Registration deadline is Oct. 10.
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