Music and Crafts of the Southeastern United States
odd: label: Introduction
content: Virtually every area of the South harbors a potter, weaver, toy maker, wood-carver, boatbuilder, calligrapher, ornamental blacksmith, sign painter, or seamstress who has maintained his or her craft in the face of nearly total indifference by the outside world. It is true, certainly, that many southern craftworkers have discarded quilt making, coverlet weaving, and pottery turning as unpleasant reminders of their humble origins. For others, the crafts remain a beloved preoccupation that, like family reunions and music festivals, have grown to symbolize an important component of regional and ethnic identity.

There are few generalizations that can be made about contemporary southern craftworkers as a group. Some are articulate about their work while others are inexpressive. Some practice crafts originally restricted to only one sex and passed from parent to child through an informal apprenticeship while others have not been so constrained. Many find monetary benefit in what they do; a few such as the solitary carver or painter work to some inner purpose largely devoid (until the coming of the folk art collector) of remunerative value. While some folk craftworkers employ modern labor and timesaving techniques, in every case they blend these with the preindustrial technologies of earlier generations. Such technologies, as well as the forms of the objects themselves, are the product of family and regional folk traditions.

The craft component at the 1981 Festival had three subdivisions:

1. a demonstration area where craftworkers were explaining their work; traditional Southeastern music - played, in part, on instruments made by the demonstrators - was also featured;

2. an exhibition of carefully-selected items commissioned specifically for the Festival and reminiscent of forms and styles made by the craftworkers' forebears; these objects were later sold at auction; 

3. a general sales tent, planned with the Smithsonian Museum Shops, where an array of traditional crafts made for the Festival were on sale daily.

Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, in commenting on a previous Festival, noted: "The possibility of using a museum that is essentially a historical documentary museum as a theatre of live performance where people actually show that the objects in the cases were made by human hands, and are still being made, practiced on, worked with, is a very valuable asset for our role as a preserver and conservator of living cultural forms." Indeed, many of the objects crafted, exhibited, and sold at the 1981 Festival were very similar to items on view in the Museum. In fact, some of the objects in the permanent collections were purchased from Festival craftworkers in the late 1960s.
label: Participants
content: Participants

David Allen, 1925-, walking stick carver, Homer, Louisiana

Linda Bowers, Seminole jacket maker, Clewiston, Florida

Charles Christian, chair maker, Mt. Judea, Arkansas

Lucreaty Clark, 1904-1986, basket maker, Lamont, Florida

Burlon B. Craig, 1914-2002, potter, Vale, North Carolina

Mrs. B. Craig, potter, Vale, North Carolina

Edsel Martin, musical instrument maker, Old Fort, North Carolina

Irene Miller, 1907-, rag rug maker, Oakland, Maryland

Jack McCutcheon, 1923-2001, chair maker, Mt. Judea, Arkansas

Lois McCutcheon, 1929-, chair maker, Mt. Judea, Arkansas

Lee Willie Nabors, 1916-, chair maker, Oklona, Mississippi

Judd Nelson, 1911-, blacksmith, Sugar Valley, Georgia

Ada Thomas, 1924-1992, basket maker, Charenton, Iowa

Donny Tolson, wood carver, Campton, Kentucky

Celestine Turner, 1928-, basket maker, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

Southeastern Crafts Exhibition, Exhibitors

Melvin Owens, pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Robert Brown, pottery, Arden, North Carolina

Lanier Meaders, pottery, Cleveland, Georgia

Daniel Garner, pottery, Robbins, North Carolina

Charles Craven, 1944-1997, pottery, Robbins, North Carolina

Hobart Garner, 1922-1985, pottery, Robbins, North Carolina

Burlon B. Craig, pottery, Vale, North Carolina

Vernon Owens, 1941-, pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Mary Livingston, pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

David Farrell, pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Wayman Cole, 1905-1987, pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

Walter Cornelison, pottery, Waco, Kentucky

Dorothy Cole Auman, 1925-1991, pottery, Seagrove, North Carolina

John Wiltshire, carvings, Coffee County, Indiana

Dicie Malone, corn shuck mat – Knox County, North Carolina

Mrs. Blaine Whitaker, corn shuck bonnet, Henderson County, North Carolina

Fairy Moody, 1907-1994, corn shuck crèche, Ashe County, North Carolina

Dieudonne Montoucet, Cajun triangle, Scott, Louisiana

Napolean Strickland, cane fife, Como, Mississippi

Clifford Glenn, 1935-, banjo & dulcimer, Sugar Grove, North Carolina

Dewey Shepherd, 1906-1996, gourd fiddle, David, Kentucky

Edsel Martin, dulcimer, Old Fort, North Carolina

Albert Hash, 1917-1983, fiddle, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia

Audrey Hash Miller, 1949-, dulcimer, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia

Mr. Mabry, wood carvings, Stone County, Arkansas

Willard Watson, wood carvings, Watauga County, North Carolina

Donny Tolson, wood carvings, Campton, Kentucky

David Allen, 1925-, wood carvings, Homer, Iowa

Dallas Bump, furniture, Royal, Arkansas

Charlie Christian, furniture, Mount Judea, Arkansas

Jack McCutcheon, 1923-2001, furniture, Mount Judea, Arkansas

Lee Willie Nabors, 1916-, furniture, Okolona, Mississippi

Bill McClure, furniture, Bloss, Kentucky

Amanda Palmer, baskets, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Susan Peoples, 1898-1986, baskets, Aragon, Georgia

Mildred Youngblood, baskets, Woodbury, Indiana

Eva Wolfe, 1922-, baskets, Cherokee, North Carolina

Carol Welch, baskets, Cherokee, North Carolina

Agnes Welch, baskets, Cherokee, North Carolina

Dolly Taylor, baskets, Cherokee, North Carolina

Geneva Ledford, 1921-1998, baskets, Cherokee, North Carolina

Ada Thomas, 1924-1992, baskets, Charenton, Louisiana

Lucreaty Clark, 1904-1986, baskets, Lamont, Florida

Edna Langley, baskets, Elton, Louisiana

Earnest Patton, wood carvings, Compton, Kentucky

Louise Jones, baskets, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

Floyd Harmon, baskets, Ocean City, Maryland

Goodwin Family Weavers, Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Pecolia Warner, quilt, Yazoo City, Mississippi

Ora Watson, 1909-2004, quilts, Watauga County, North Carolina

Linda Bowers, Seminole jacket, Clewiston, Florida

Sally Tommie, Seminole jacket, Clewiston, Florida

Philip Simmons, 1912-, metal work, Charleston, South Carolina

Phipps Bourne, metal work, Elk Creek, Virginia

Erwin Thieberger, 1908-1997, metal work, Wheaton, Maryland

James Barnwell, metal work, Henderson County, North Carolina

Pete Howell, 1902-1981, metal work, Yancey County, North Carolina
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1981 Festival of American Folklife
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1981, Series 7
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials