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February Issue 2004
Focus Gallery at Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, Features Works by Helen Gibson and Peggy Whitted
Traditional craft is the focus of the current exhibition of woodcarvings by Helen Gibson and overshot weavings by Peggy Whitted on display in the Focus Gallery at the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, on view through Mar. 2, 2004. Both artists represent what folklorists call "living traditions" as their work has evolved within the craft practice of family and community.
Helen Gibson is renowned for her carved figures, especially the nativity scenes, and is sought after to teach workshops around the region. She has written several books on carving and teaches regularly at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, where she has been the resident carver since 1990.
Gibson received her earliest training as part of the school's historic Brasstown Carvers cottage industry. She learned carving from her mother, Dorothy McClure, and neighbor Fannie Ivester. Later, she studied with instructor Murrial Martin and master carvers Jack Hall and Sue McClure. The Guild's permanent collection includes works, currently on display in the Permanent Collection Gallery, by both Gibson and the Brasstown Carvers.
Gibson's carving share the gallery with Peggy Whitted's overshot weavings. Whitted was introduced to weaving at the age of 19 by her mother-in-law, Fern Whitted. The elder woman and her husband, James, were production weavers and operated Whitted Weavers studio from 1976-1998 in Sevierville, TN. Whitted had worked with fabric since she was a small child - making doll clothes, embroidering, sewing, knitting and crocheting, but weaving quickly became a passion. She learned to weave with the help of books and joined a weaver's guild, earning her apprentice weaver's certificate a few years later. In 1988, Whitted and her family moved from Montana to Tennessee, where she operates a production weaving studio and belongs to several craft guilds.
Whitted specializes in table linens, such as napkins, kitchen towels, dish cloths, table runners and placemats. These are handwoven with cotton yarns in a variety of colors. She loves the traditional overshot weaving patterns, including Whig Rose, Lee's Surrender, Arkansas Flower and many others. Overshot is a distinct weaving pattern involving special loom threading and the use of heavy yam in the weft.
Both Whitted and Gibson are active members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. They participate in the Guild's bi-annual craft fairs and provide educational demonstrations. Whitted's work can be found at Guild shops.
For more information
check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the center at
828/298-7962 or on the web at (www.southernhighlandguild.org).
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