American Craft in Asheville

Folk Art Center

Our first stop through our Asheville trip we stopped at the Folk Art Center. The Folk Art Center is the home of the guild system which was started in 1930 by missionary women. These women started the guid system to keep local traditions alive and help local farmers make money. The local women that were weavers would make coverlets and local crafts people to make handmade crafts to market and sell. The guild started with 8 members and is now across 9 states with 900 members. One of the artisans work that I was interested in was Walter Steven. Walter crafts ceramics from dug up clay and formed into pottery. On the pottery were western scenes painted on porcelain and uses of crystallized glaze.

Handmade in America

We stopped by Handmade in America for our second stop. Handmade in America is an exhibit to showcase local handmade craftsmen. The purpose is to support local communities. By purchasing these local items you know your money is going to people in your community and supporting your local economy rather than corporations. Every item is handmade so you also know you are receiving an item of greater quality. All of the items in this exhibits main intent was functionality. They designed so that the items could be used. One set of pottery I was interested in was a set of mugs by Michon Sentner. When I asked about the artist's inspiration, our guide did not know much about this particular artist rather than he designed his pieces to be functional.

Center for Craft Creativity and Design

At our third stop at the Center for Craft Creativity and Design we we asked to give our reflections on the exhibit. Lia Cook has her collection of weaved coverlets with imagines of children in them. I thought it was amazing to be able to weave coverlets of this size and then even more so that they could weave such clear images within the pattern.

The Oriole Mill

The mill was started in 2006 as a location to create various fabrics. The building was chosen for the mill for the high amount of natural light. This mill differs from others because of the large amount of open space between each loom. They decided to do this to create a safer work environment and believe in quality over quantity. The process to creating a fabric starts out by using the creole to warp the threads onto spools. They then use the looms to weave the fabrics. They use the Jacquard loom for more complicates patterns. The mill can produce coverlets, fabrics, blankets, pillows, bedding, and etc.