March 22nd, 2015
Sweetgrass Baskets, Historic Charleston, South Carolina, City Market, Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival, Saturday, June 6, 2015
I have been in Rehoboth Beach….waiting for Spring. Finally, the sky is blue, but that chill in the air is most definitely still there. I don’t know what happened but my week in Historic Charleston, South Carolina, was grey, a bit rainy, and cool.
My friends asked me if I had bought one of the sweetgrass baskets. Not yet…another trip, perhaps. Could not make up my mind.
The baskets are made of sweetgrass, long leaf pine needles, bulrush and Palmetto tree leaves. This type of basket weaving is one of the oldest crafts of African origin in America. Each is an original piece, revealing the skill of the individual designer. With proper care sweetgrass baskets will last a lifetime.
If you follow my blog, you are well aware that I do take lots of photos. I think people are more visual, plus I like doing it. When taking pictures you have to be sensitive to others whether you are in a restaurant or other public place or taking the photos of the weavers, like I did. I asked for permission, and they did give it to me. On the next photo, he was only taking care of the booth at the City Market for his mother, Celestine Wilson.
This next sweetgrass basket weaver was right at the main entrance of the City Market. It takes her hours to finish a basket. They are labor intensive. It is getting harder to get the grasses. Some travel to Jacksonville to get them. Most basket weavers sign their work on the bottom. The ones I had the opportunity to speak to said that with them it started when they were very young. That they would take a seat in their home’s living room and one of them would start weaving, then pass it on to the next member of the family for inspection and so on and so on until the mother or grandmother would inspect it one last time. While weaving, all would talk about the day’s ongoings. One of them said that even to this day…when her children come to visit for the holidays or what not…this is a “pastime” that they all do together.
The care for the sweetgrass baskets is pretty simple and easy. Since the grasses used are found in swamp and marsh areas, the water will not hurt them. Use a soft brush or cloth, carefully washing them in soapy water. Rinse, then, air dry them completely. That’s all!
Charleston City Market is recognized as one of the oldest in the country. The land must remain in use as a market for perpetuity. It is located at 188 Meeting St. Many of the local vendors are displaying and selling their goods at the City Market. The Market opens every day. They only close on December 25th. Please visit http://www.thecharlestoncitymarket.com.
And when the sun came up on Monday, March 2nd and the temperatures climbed to 70 degrees….I had to take this photo!!
EVENT: The Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival will take place at the Memorial Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant, SC on Saturday, June 6, 2015. More info? http://www.sweetgrassfestival.org. Tel. 843-856-9732
Have an awesome day!!
Tags: Activities, Charleston City Market, Charleston's Sweetgrass Baskets, Events, Historic Charleston, Shopping, South Carolina, Sweetgrass Baskets, Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival, Visit Charleston City Market
