Artist ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary Welch Thompson (Eastern Band Cherokee) bridges traditional Cherokee culture and contemporary life. Working across media, including basket making and pottery, her forms and patterns embody a continuous lineage of Cherokee past and present. Since 2019, Thompson has served as the consulting artist for “The Basket,” a new public art installation in downtown Asheville designed to recognize, hold space, and increase public knowledge surrounding past and present Cherokee arts, culture, tradition, and language.
To honor Thompson’s expertise and significant contribution to this installation, the Center for Craft commissioned the artist to create three, large-scale river cane mats. The weavings, which were uniquely considered to be viewed in the round, incorporate traditional Cherokee patterns, such as “Peace Pipe” and “Noonday Sun,” as well as Thompson’s distinct compositions. Within the exhibition, you may note that Thompson has woven her syllabary mark as a signature in the bottom corner of each mat. These mats are on view for the first time alongside examples of the artists’ rivercane baskets and designs as part of this exhibition.
Meet the artists
Faye Junaluska
Cherokee, NC
Lucille Lossiah
Ramon Lose
Cullowhee, NC
ᏯᏗ ᎺᏂ Betty Maney
Cherokee, NC
ᏗᎳᏂ Dylan Morgan
Cherokee, NC
ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson
ᏎᎳᏂ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Sarah Thompson
Patricia Welch
Meet the artists
CRAFT RESEARCH TALK
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about the artists
Photo credit: Jamie Hopper
ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson is an esteemed second-generation basket weaver, veteran, entrepreneur, and enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI).
She expresses her appreciation for her ancestry and culture through her woven creations. The daughter of Geraldine W. Walkingstick and mother to ᏎᎳᏂ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Sarah Thompson, ᎺᎵ ᏔᎻᏏᏂ Mary W. Thompson is the link to three generations of basket weavers. Thompson's work has received numerous awards and is part of the permanent collection of the University of South Alabama, Mobile. She is the recent recipient of a prestigious Arrowmont 2021 Appalachian Craft and Culture Fellow and the South Arts 2021 Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship. Her work has been published in the National Basketry Organization’s Tradition & Innovation in Basketry Today Juried & Invitational exhibition All Things Considered, and WNC Mountain Living Magazine. Mary has also taught basketry at the Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in Gatlinburg Tennessee, Sequoyah Museum in Vonore, Tennessee, and at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, North Carolina. A veteran of the United States Air Force, Mary has served four terms representing the tribal members in the legislative branch of the Tribal Government. A mom, gardener, potter, and basket weaver, she continues to volunteer in the community and serves on several national and local boards.
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Aram Han Sifuentes is a recipient of the Center for Craft’s 2022 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship. This substantial mid-career grant is awarded to two artists to support research projects that advance, expand, and support the creation of new research and knowledge through craft practice.
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UNC Asheville transforms lives through leadership and education. The designated liberal arts and sciences institution for the UNC System and one of the nation’s top 10 public liberal arts universities, UNC Asheville enrolls 3,600 students and offers more than 30 undergraduate majors and a Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences degree. UNC Asheville also encourages students to take part in a nationally acclaimed undergraduate research program and participate in interdisciplinary learning. From internships and hands-on projects, to study abroad and community engagement, students experience an education that extends beyond campus into the vibrant City of Asheville, the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and the world.
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67 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 785-1357 | info@centerforcraft.org
Gallery Hours: Tues–Sat, 10–6 get more info
Gallery Hours: Closed — Reopening Fall 2019
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