Rita Collee Donates Her Engagement Loom
Rita Collee and her helper delivered her precious weaving loom that her husband bought for her when they got engaged, along with a spinning wheel and Penelope loom
Teresa South & Ed Perzel
This donation was made possible by:
Ruth South's descendants: Teresa South,
Loretta McDonald,
Michael South,
Jackie Dyer, and
Earnest Teague, III;
Sandi Basel, President of the Blue Ridge Fiber Guild; and Jane Campbell.
Ruth South's descendants: Teresa South,
Loretta McDonald,
Michael South,
Jackie Dyer, and
Earnest Teague, III;
Sandi Basel, President of the Blue Ridge Fiber Guild; and Jane Campbell.
Generous Donation from Local Family ~ December 2010
Florence Art School has received a generous donation of four weaving looms and related items from the family of Ruth South. Ruth and Florence Thomas have a lot in common, they both were described as soft spoken women, gifted teachers and talented artists; and their resources are providing a lasting legacy for future generations of artists here in Ashe county and the surrounding regions.
Ruth South learned her craft through Roosevelt’s New Deal/WPA program in the early 1940’s. She also attended summer sessions at Berea College in Kentucky and Penland School in Spruce Pine, NC. Starting at the young age of 18, she taught weaving to adults at Watauga Handicrafts with Miss Elizabeth Lord, a woman who came to Boone, NC from upstate New York and who was a trainer with the WPA.
After her marriage to Austin South in 1945, Ruth continued to teach at Watauga Handicrafts until her three children were born in the late 40’s and early 50’s. Recognizing the need to be a homemaker, she continued to use her weaving skills at home to provide a second income for the family, and around 1960, realized a dream to have her own “weaving room”, when a building adjacent to her home was constructed to house her looms.
Her father, Estel Carlton, built many of her looms, using pegs rather than bolts. He discovered pegs worked better because the action of the loom loosened the bolts, requiring frequent tightening. Ruth taught her mother, Nellie Carlton to weave in the early 40’s, after her retirement from teaching school in a one-room schoolhouse near Blowing Rock.
Ruth South was accepted to the highly esteemed Southern Highland Craft Guild around 1950. From her home, she continued to weave and produce many functional handmade items like aprons, placemats, curtains, lavender sachet bags, skirts and other clothing, coverlets, rugs and more. During the summer tourist season, she delivered her handmade goods for resale to various gift shops including Parkway Craft Center, stores in Blowing Rock and places along the Blue Ridge Parkway as far away as Fontana Village in the Nantahala Forest area in western NC and Lurray Caverns in Virginia.
From 1967 until the late 1970’s, Ruth returned to teaching weaving at an area girls’ camp – Camp Yonahlossee – the oldest camp in North Carolina, started in 1923. Here Ruth South realized her true passion for weaving was in teaching. She loved the idea of passing on the wonderful, meditative art of weaving to others.
Her family’s hope and desire is that her legacy will live on in the donation of her looms to the Florence Art School in Glendale Springs.’
Reprinted from the biography of Ruth South written by her daughter Teresa South.‘
After her marriage to Austin South in 1945, Ruth continued to teach at Watauga Handicrafts until her three children were born in the late 40’s and early 50’s. Recognizing the need to be a homemaker, she continued to use her weaving skills at home to provide a second income for the family, and around 1960, realized a dream to have her own “weaving room”, when a building adjacent to her home was constructed to house her looms.
Her father, Estel Carlton, built many of her looms, using pegs rather than bolts. He discovered pegs worked better because the action of the loom loosened the bolts, requiring frequent tightening. Ruth taught her mother, Nellie Carlton to weave in the early 40’s, after her retirement from teaching school in a one-room schoolhouse near Blowing Rock.
Ruth South was accepted to the highly esteemed Southern Highland Craft Guild around 1950. From her home, she continued to weave and produce many functional handmade items like aprons, placemats, curtains, lavender sachet bags, skirts and other clothing, coverlets, rugs and more. During the summer tourist season, she delivered her handmade goods for resale to various gift shops including Parkway Craft Center, stores in Blowing Rock and places along the Blue Ridge Parkway as far away as Fontana Village in the Nantahala Forest area in western NC and Lurray Caverns in Virginia.
From 1967 until the late 1970’s, Ruth returned to teaching weaving at an area girls’ camp – Camp Yonahlossee – the oldest camp in North Carolina, started in 1923. Here Ruth South realized her true passion for weaving was in teaching. She loved the idea of passing on the wonderful, meditative art of weaving to others.
Her family’s hope and desire is that her legacy will live on in the donation of her looms to the Florence Art School in Glendale Springs.’
Reprinted from the biography of Ruth South written by her daughter Teresa South.‘
Thank you to the volunteers that carefully transported the looms from Ruth's weaving room in Meat Camp to the classroom at Florence Art School in Glendale Springs: Ed Perzel, Jay & Hollis Wild, Teresa South, Jane, Mike & Cole Campbell, Susan Graham, Fowler Bush and Meghan Minton.
