Basket making
Abingdon, VA
Amanda Sprinkle fell in love with basket making when she took a class with her future mother-in-law over 24 years ago, and has been weaving ever since. “I loved the way basketry incorporated both function and artistic expression,” she explained. She also views baskets as a way to connect to Appalachian culture, where basket makers were born out of necessity.
Today Amanda makes traditional baskets as well as original contemporary designs. She has sold her work throughout east Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, she has taught classes and demonstrated at venues like the Wytheville Museum and Southwest Virginia Cultural Center, and for the last 16 years, she has served as basketry judge for the Appalachian Fair in Gray, TN. “I hope to keep the long history of basketmaking alive by getting more people involved in the process,” she explains. Amanda will be in the Appalachian Traditions tent in the Virginia Folklife Area on Saturday, October 15 and Sunday, October 15.