South Jersey Basketry Edition
August 9, 2022
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Join us for Basket Tales! Exhibits & Demos at the Collingswood Crafts and Fine Arts Festival August 20-21, 2022
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Jersey Shore basket maker Mary May will welcome visitors to the Jersey Shore tent at Basket Tales |
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Get a closeup look at weaver Steven Carty's lightning speed weaving action-and bring the kids for a free garlic basket weaving activity in the Pinelands tent! |
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One of the first things we humans did together on earth was to weave baskets.
Since our hunter-gatherer days, we've needed various vessels for eating, drinking and collecting fruits, seeds and all of the things we needed to survive.
If you lived near a river, you'd use bags and baskets woven from local fibers to bring home the bounty from your fishing and hunting forays. Baskets were used to trap fish in rivers, gather eggs from waterfowl, and for carrying babies. Whether they're coiled, twisted or interlaced, every basket--since the time when Moses was said to have floated down the River Nile in a rush basket--has been fashioned by a human with skills.
All three master weavers will be on hand throughout the day on Saturday, Aug. 20 demonstrating the indigenous and European basketweaving traditions that live on in the South Jersey region as well as their own creative takes on the craft.
Visit us any time during the festival and learn how weavers work extensively with local materials—grasses, trees, vines and bark—foraged in the wilds of the Pine Barrens and the Jersey Shore. Learn how these artisans source and prep their materials--and try weaving a basket of your own!
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WONDER WEAVERS WORKSHOP (ages 8+ with caregiver)
Saturday Aug. 20 10:00am
Make a garlic basket with a master weaver! Free, no registration required.
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BREAD BASKET WORKSHOP
Make this basket with master weaver Steven Carty. No experience necessary!
Sunday, Aug. 21 11:00am-2:00pm Preregistration and Fee Required
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Stay tuned to our social media for updates and the complete schedule of events! |
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Basketweaver Steven Carty |
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Tales Baskets Tell About South Jersey |
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Traditional basketweavers |
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Clarence Morgan shaving splits |
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Charcoal baskets, egg baskets, eel fykes, potato baskets, oyster baskets, driftwood baskets, antler baskets, market baskets, berry baskets: human ingenuity reflected in baskets is inexhaustable. The basketweavers of South Jersey are masters of the craft. And they're ready to share their secrets.
The stories baskets tell us about South Jersey history and culture are varied and intriguing. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the abundant pine trees of the Pine Barrens were transformed into charcoal in slow burning pits–fuel to forge iron at places like Batsto Village. The black lumps were carried in shallow round baskets.
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Attracted by the variety of soil types on the flat lands of the region, farmers grew sweet potatoes in the sandy soil, cultivated blueberries and cranberries in the acidic soils, and gave the Garden State its nickname by growing vegetables and fruits in the loamy soils for markets in the cities. Their products were presented in delicate berry baskets and potato baskets the size of large dog beds. Home cooks and chefs carried these products to their final destinations in market baskets.
In Vineland, once the "Egg Capital of the World," egg baskets cradled their fragile crop. When Port Norris touted itself as the "Oyster Capital of the World," workers unloaded the shellfish from schooners into enormous oyster baskets with convex bottoms. Eels, today caught in fresh waters in net traps, were in the past trapped in tubular basket-like wooden eel "fykes."
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Today many of those forms live on through the work of basket maker Mary May. She crafts them with native white oak that's prized for its strength and water resistance. She splits the logs, shaves and sands the splints herself: "My hands are my most important tool."
Employing deep research into the history of baskets and basket makers of South Jersey, May preserves the traditional forms of the past: "I am a traditional basket maker. I make baskets that tell the stories of how people once used baskets in New Jersey and how they function today in the home."
While Mary May's laundry baskets may still carry clothes, other baskets are displayed as works of art and exemplars of craftsmanship. Just for fun, May also weaves miniatures and whimsical decorative baskets
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Some of the Cartys' hand-foraged basket supplies |
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Basket makers Mary Carty and her son Steven Carty are also dedicated to preserving the craft of basketmaking with traditional forms such as bread baskets. They also enjoy the challenge of weaving innovative shapes from varied materials. Antlers and gourds become armatures for striking works of art. Carty has always been able to "take nothing and make it into something." For proof that she's not exaggerating, take a look at this original gourd bowl! |
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Steven, who who made his first basket at the age of 11 and sold it for $12, says he's "naturally a rebel." He cites the innovative but subtle way he has of doing the "hemming" on the side bottom of a bread basket. He also loves foraging for his materials -- wisteria vine, river reed, hickory bark -- in the South Jersey environment, following the path of his family's Lenape forebears.
Though all three artisans love the process of making beautiful perfectly executed baskets, teaching others is their most important and rewarding way of sustaining basketmaking–and South Jersey will benefit from their dedication for generations to come.
- Rita Moonsammy
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Dr. Moonsammy is affiliated with the Perkins Folklife Center as a 2022 New Jersey Humanities Scholar. She is the author of two books, Pinelands Folklife and Passing It On, and many scholarly articles. She is currently a faculty member of Goucher College’s Master’s program in Cultural Sustainability.
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To learn more about Mary May's work, click the following links to YouTube: |
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Meet Steven Carty, Master Basketweaver
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“There’s an entire generation of children that I've taught to weave in the city of Camden and I'm really proud of that. Like years from now I can probably sit on any street corner in Camden weaving a basket and some grown adult younger than me might be like, ‘Hey, you taught me how.’ They could set down their phones and their electronic devices, just pick up a basket and weave.”
-Steven Carty, basketweaver, Mount Holly
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Steven Cartywas exposed to basketry at an early age through the influence of his mother, Mary Carty. Interviewer Lydia Sheckels weaves together the threads of Steven’s life as a weaver and woodsman, revealing some of his secret sources for materials and sharing his dream of traveling the world learning and teaching about age-old basket traditions.
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When he’s not foraging South Jersey’s creeks and forests, Steven can be found weaving at events and festivals across New Jersey and much of Pennsylvania. He has also taught, demonstrated and or displayed basketry at places such as Rutgers University, Peters Valley School of Craft, Perkins Center for the Arts, and dozens of museums and historic sites. |
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GENEROUS SUPPORT PROVIDED BY |
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