Jay A. Morris

Jay A. Morris

Brasstown Carvers

John C. Campbell Folk School

Wood-carvers

Brasstown Carver Jay A. Morris (1915-1996) began carving during the Great Depression, learning from Murray Martin. He was most known for his rabbit and squirrel carvings, though during World War II he also carved “GI Joe” figures with servicemen’s caps. Jay once won a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) contest with a carved squirrel bookend. The TVA then requested that Jay carve 300 pairs of these bookends in 90 days. Though this was an impossible task, he still accomplished an impressive 100 pairs. Jay did public work in timbering and roadbuilding, eventually retiring from the Department of Transportation.

Settlement Institutions of Appalachia (SIA) Collection

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

photographs

portraits

eng

StillImage

72646

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/72646

Brasstown (N.C.)

Craft Revival