Helen Gibson and Ray Mann

Helen Gibson and Ray Mann

Animals in art

Brasstown Carvers

John C. Campbell Folk School

Wood-carvers

Wood-carving

Helen Gibson and Ray Mann sit at a table with animal woodcarvings. Helen Gibson teaching a woodcarving class at John C. Campbell Folk School. Brasstown Carver Helen Gibson has been carving since she was a child. She began learning from her mother, Dorothy (Dot) Payne McClure (1922-1958), and from her neighbors Fannie Ivester and Martha Coffey. Helen also took many classes from Jack Hall. She is well-known for both her carvings and her teaching. Helen began teaching carving in 1989 through John C. Campbell Folk School’s apprentice program. After that, she regularly traveled across the Southeast to teach at carving clubs. She has also taught locally at Tri-County Community College, and she continues to teach occasional classes at the Folk School. Helen has published several books on carving nativity figures, St. Francis, and Moses. Brasstown Carver Ray Mann (1904-1999) was born in Buncombe County, NC, and moved to Clay County, NC, as a young child. He worked at the Champion Fibre Company paper mill in Canton, NC, for a while before returning to Clay County to live near Warne. Ray began carving at John C. Campbell Folk School in 1933, learning from Murray Martin. His specialties were sheep, goats, and cattle. Ray’s primary occupation was carpentry, from which he made a living for over 30 years. Ray married Elsie Hall, daughter of Brasstown Carver and folksinger Elisha Hall, in 1922. The couple was married for over 70 years and had four children together.

JCCFS Photo Collection

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photographs

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StillImage

72842

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/72842

Brasstown (N.C.)

Craft Revival