Take this rare opportunity to learn mat weaving from ᏚᏍᏓᏯᎫᎾᏱ Gabriel Crow, esteemed Eastern Band Cherokee Basket Maker and featured artist in ᎢᏛᏍᎦ  ᏫᏥᏤᎢ ᎠᎵᏰᎵᏒ:  ᎪᏥᎩ  ᏣᎳᎩ  ᏔᎷᏣ  ᏗᎬᏗ,  ᎦᏙ,  ᏃᎴ  ᎪᎵᏍᏗᎯ Weaving Across Time: Contemporary Cherokee Basket Making, Land, and Identity.

Registration is $75 and all materials are included. This workshop is in-person and masks are required. All experience levels are welcome. This activity is recommended for ages 16 and older.

The knowledge of where and how to harvest basket making materials and the skills to dye and weave them into art objects takes a lifetime to develop and refine. Basket weaving requires physical strength, persistence, creativity, and dexterity. It is learned through repetition, experimentation, and mentorship.

Cherokee, NC based ᏍᏓᏯᎫᎾᏱ Gabriel Crow (b. 1997) found his connection to the art of basket weaving through personal exploration and by working closely with an older generation of mentors. Crow is part of the next generation of Eastern Band Cherokee basket makers, actively stewarding cultural and material knowledge for future basket makers and  interweaving traditional material knowledge with his individual, contemporary perspective. The woven mat has become a particularly valuable format for contemporary basket weavers to experiment with pattern and color.

Join this master workshop and learn about traditional Eastern Band Cherokee weaving patterns, how to dye splints, and how to weave a traditional Eastern Band Cherokee  mat form. Learn from master basket maker ᏚᏍᏓᏯᎫᎾᏱ Gabriel Crow and take inspiration from the masterful mats and baskets on view in the galleries exhibiting ᎢᏛᏍᎦ ᏫᏥᏤᎢ ᎠᎵᏰᎵᏒ: ᎪᏥᎩ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏔᎷᏣ ᏗᎬᏗ, ᎦᏙ, ᏃᎴ ᎪᎵᏍᏗᎯ Weaving Across Time: Contemporary Cherokee Basket Making, Land, and Identity.

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About the Exhibition

ᎢᏛᏍᎦ ᏫᏥᏤᎢ ᎠᎵᏰᎵᏒ: ᎪᏥᎩ ᏣᎳᎩ ᏔᎷᏣ ᏗᎬᏗ, ᎦᏙ, ᏃᎴ ᎪᎵᏍᏗᎯ Weaving Across Time: Contemporary Cherokee Basket Making, Land, and Identity features nine contemporary Eastern Band Cherokee artists who are creatively building on a centuries-old practice of basket making. Learning from mothers, grandmothers, and mentors, they sustainably harvest, process, and dye materials found throughout Western North Carolina, and weave them into exquisite baskets. The works on view are more than beautiful objects - they are vessels that preserve, store, and celebrate indigenous wisdom, identity, and creativity.

Exhibiting Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Artists include: ᏚᏍᏓᏯᎫᎾᏱ Gabriel Crow, Faye Junaluska, Lucille Lossiah, Ramona Lossie, ᏯᏗ ᎺᏂ Betty Maney, ᏗᎳᏂ Dylan Morgan, ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson, ᏎᎳᏂ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Sarah Thompson, Patricia Welch. Translations by Marie Junaluska.‍

ᎢᏛᏍᎦ ᏫᏥᏤᎢ ᎠᎵᏰᎵᏒ Weaving Across Time is on view at the Center for Craft until April 22, 2022.