Woodcarving: crèche Mary figures

Woodcarving: crèche Mary figures

Brasstown Carvers

Handicraft

John C. Campbell Folk School

Wood-carving -- Appalachian Region, Southern

Woodwork -- Appalachian Region, Southern

These two Virgin Mary figures were carved in holly by Hope Caler Brown as part of a nativity scene. Murrial Martin, a teacher at the John C. Campbell Folk School, originally designed crèche figures to be made by different carvers so that each crèche set was a collaborative effort. Although figures were sometimes carved from different woods, Martin preferred holly. Holly was so light in color, she said that it looked like ivory. Hope Brown and her husband Glenn carved with John C. Campbell Folk School instructor Murrial Martin in the 1940s and sold their work through the Folk School's woodcarving cooperative that became known as the Brasstown Carvers. Unlike many carvers who worked from patterns or drawings provided by Martin, Brown designed her own patterns and shared them with other carvers. She lost many original patterns fire that destroyed school woodshop in 1944.

Brasstown Carvers

Brown, Hope Caler

Artifact Collection

Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723

1940/1979

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

jpg

crafts (art genres)

StillImage

14904

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/14904

2007-10-08

All rights reserved. For permissions and use, contact John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC 28902;

Clay County (N.C.)

Appalachian Region, Southern

4" x 2" x 2"(dimension)

Craft Revival