Delia Turner

Delia Turner (she/they) practices several forms of basketweaving, including split-wood, wickerwork, and folded bark basketry. “In keeping with tradition,” Delia explains, “I weave only with materials I harvest locally and prepare myself with just a few simple hand tools—garden shears, scraping knife, hatchet, draw knife, and hand-built shave horse which was gifted by a weaving mentor.” From materials including white oak, hickory, hazel, willow, magnolia, tulip poplar, kudzu, honeysuckle, and bittersweet vines, Delia weaves baskets made for both display and everyday use.

Delia names as her mentors many weavers from Western North Carolina, including Nancy Basket, Mary Ann and Bill Smith, Pattie Bagley, and In These Mountains Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship recipients Sue Williams and Betty Maney. From each of them, Delia has learned specific styles and techniques for basketmaking. She has also traveled to Romania to study the European roots of Appalachian split basketry.

With this strong foundation in tradition, Delia still loves to experiment. “I have been processing kudzu and other abundant plants using the same techniques as for white oak, to weave baskets just as strong and durable, with traditional Appalachian designs,” she describes. “By incorporating kudzu and other invasive [plants] into my craft alongside traditional materials, I am able to produce baskets with a positive ecological impact, that cost nothing to make. I believe that doing so increases the accessibility of the craft and allows it to remain a living, breathing folk art form.”

Delia teaches classes in basketry through her organization, School of the Greenwood. She hopes to expand her teaching offerings to include free lessons at her local library and multi-week immersion programs for teenagers to learn traditional lifeways. She also recently began sharing instructional videos online. She plans to put her Emerging Traditional Artists Program award towards further developing her web presence, to introduce basketry to larger audiences. Delia also hopes to develop her craft further through continued apprenticeships with her mentors.