Sharing the passion and soul of needlecrafts.

FEATURED ARTICLES

QUICK CLICKS
About Us
Advertise
Archives
Blog
Columns
Contact Us
Featured Articles
Home
Media Room
Patterns
Share
Submit
Subscribe








 

On George Washington Carver and Fiber Arts
by Toni Blye

All photos in this article courtesy of Courtesy National Park Service, Museum Management Program
When we think of history’s visionaries, we rarely picture them wielding a knitting needle, a crochet hook, or a sewing needle, especially if they are men. Yet, George Washington Carver, one of our celebrated teachers and renaissance men was equally at home with these tools as he was in a laboratory, a field or a classroom. Fiber arts are almost certainly not the first thing you probably think about when you hear Carver’s name. In fact, for most people, invariably the same image comes to mind. Peanuts. Looking beneath the surface though, there is much more to the man than that.

Carver is most famous as “The Peanut Man”[1] compiling lists over 300 hundred uses for peanuts, a bit of trivia that sometimes overshadows his accomplishments as an agriculturalist, inventor, educator and pioneer in the struggle for racial equality. Lesser known is that his first love was art.[2] He was also extremely talented in arts and crafts winning an honorable mention for one of his paintings in the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.[3] He was also a better than average knitter and crocheter, skills he learned in childhood and continued to practice all his life. A few examples of his work can still be found in the present day.  Much like the rest of his work, his themes reflected nature and his love of the world around him.

“If you love it enough, anything will talk with you.”[4]

Carver learned his skills as a child from his “Aunt” Susan Carver, the wife of his slave owner Moses Carver. Moses Carver was opposed to slavery in general but accepted George’s mother, Mary as payment for a debt. George and his brother were orphaned after their Mary and their sister were reported to have died after being kidnapped by bushwhackers (slave raiders) in Arkansas. After slavery was abolished in 1865, Moses and Susan chose to raise Carver and his brother James as their own[5] until George left home to further his schooling at the age of about 11. A weak child, unable to work on the farm, Susan Carver thought that needlework would help him strengthen his hands[6] and also had him help out with chores in general[7].  Knitting appealed to his sense of problem solving. By the age of about 6 or 7 he found that he could recreate just about any item that he saw.[8]  Neighbors dubbed his intricate lace and crochet “fancywork”.

While he found the activities entertaining and satisfying, most importantly they appealed to his practical and industrious nature. Needle arts provided him with a way to recycle materials and produce useful items, something that was a part of his lifelong work. His projects were often made of materials reclaimed from other household items. His skills also performed a practical need. Carver used what meager income he had from odd jobs and housework to pay for his schooling.  He made all his own mittens, hosiery and other clothing during his tenure in school. [9]

“Save everything. From what you have, make what you want.”[10]

His relatively light chore load as a boy also allowed him time to explore the wildflowers, tree bark, seeds and other flora of the Missouri countryside. He was curious about their properties and colors, and conducted experiments to make them healthier and stronger. [11]These early activities not only became an integral part of his life’s work, they fueled his work with fiber too. Later, using his extensive agricultural knowledge, Carver often dyed his own fiber, extracting pigments from materials such as walnut, mulberry, and ochre clay. “Our clays are just as brilliant as the ones the old masters used. Michelangelo used clay like this. Our clays are just as brilliant as the ones the old masters used. Michelangelo used clay like this.”[12]

These days being “green” is sometimes presented as something new, but the utility of string bags were old hat for Carver. Old burlap bags? He reinvigorated those by embellishing them with needlework. He made colorful rugs from the household rags. He processed bark fibers and wove them into functional mats.

That Carter should continue to practice needle arts through his life is not surprising. As the Director of Agriculture for the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes he was constantly involved in the struggle to help blacks and other farmers become and stay self-sufficient. With practical advice such as that laid out in agricultural bulletins like Help for the Hard Times, he also routinely stressed continual self-improvement, and self-reliance. He was extremely proud of his abilities and when younger people would ask for details about his life in later years in interviews, he made sure to list his ability to knit and crochet. A current exhibit and the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois features film clips of Carver knitting in his later years.[13]

“Learn to do common things uncommonly well; we must always keep in mind that anything that helps fill the dinner pail is valuable.”[14]

It is with good reason that in 1941 Time magazine dubbed Carver the black Leonardo Da Vinci.[15] But could Da Vinci knit?

 “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.”[16]

Toni Blye learned to knit and crochet as an adult and also loves using household items and recycled materials for her projects.  Eventually she’d also enjoy exploring the art of natural dyeing and spinning as well. She blogs sporadically at http://phoenixpcd.wordpress.com and her projects can be found on Ravelry under the username phoenix.

<<Back to Featured Articles>>
 

Home | About Us | Patterns | Archives | Subscribe | Share | Advertise | Contact Us | Submit | Media

Copyright 2006-2008 Black Purl Magazine.  All Rights Reserved.