Telling the story of an exciting regional movement
Creating handicrafts and preserving traditions from the 1890s to 1940s.
http://www.wcu.edu/library/DigitalCollections/CraftRevival/story/index.html
This website tells the story of the historic Craft Revival and its impact on western North Carolina. During the Revival, North Carolina makers shaped clay, in turn shaping the attitudes and values that contribute to today’s appreciation of the handmade object. Makers wove cotton, linen, and wool, weaving a sense of community that contributes to a strong sense of place. Craftsmen hammered metal, forging partnerships to effect change. Artisans worked with wood, building a regional economy based on individual talent and entrepreneurship. Craft Revival activities emphasized quality, individuality, and workmanship. These values remain evident in a 21st-century region that is both dynamic and progressive.
- What is entrepreneurship?
- How is this story an example of entrepreneurship?
- What caused these people to become entrepreneurs?
- Define profit motive.
- What were these people able to do with their profit?
- How did these people benefit the economy of the region?
The mountainous Appalachian region entered into the mainstream of American consciousness in the late 19th century, after rail travel made inroads into previously inaccessible places. By the 1870s travel books with highly detailed illustrations brought images of remote mountains to American population centers in the East.
*How did “outsiders” learn about Appalachia?
*Where specifically is Appalachia?
*What misconceptions did people have about the region?
*What happened to the economy of the region as a result of those misconceptions?
Like a finely woven coverlet, multiple threads of thought and action made up the fabric of the Craft Revival. One focus of the Revival was preservation, the teaching and learning of skills thought to be endangered at the time. A 1925 brochure produced by the Crossnore School Weaving Department, north of Asheville, was typical in its proposal "to keep alive an almost forgotten art." Preservationist efforts focused on weaving, gathering community women to learn, produce, and sell hand woven articles. Spinning, dyeing with native plants, and weaving were among the skills taught at Craft Revival sites. While traditional skills were preserved, traditional forms were not. Craft Revival weavers did make traditional coverlets but, more often than not, weaving patterns were adapted to the production of smaller, non-traditional items, like table runners and placemats.
Choose one of the crafts from The Craft Page.
- What capital was used to produce the craft?
- What natural resources?
- What skills did the craftsperson need?
- Why would there be a demand for this particular craft?
Find examples of the type of crafts you chose and craftspeople working on them. Study the pictures and then choose one to print.
Write a short story that goes with the photograph you printed. Your story will be fiction, but should include the following information:
Where is the craftsperson living?
Why did he or she choose to create the craft?
How was the craft was created?
What economic effect did creating the craft have on the craftsperson?
by Denise Davis, History Department, Franklin High School, Franklin, North Carolina
No comments:
Post a Comment