The next exhibition at The TAUNY Center will feature over 120 items from the folk art collection of the Folklife Center at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, NY. Folk Arts All Around Us will open at The TAUNY Center on February 13. Curated by Folklife Center Director Todd DeGarmo, who has had primary vision and responsibility for building the collection during his long tenure at the Center, the exhibition is a colorful and varied display that demonstrates DeGarmo’s eclectic approach to collecting.
Anatomy of a Packbasket2
Anatomy of a Packbasket, TAUNY’s fall exhibit, looks at the history of the Adirondack packbasket and the process of making one. TAUNY Photography Director Martha Cooper spent several days in the woods and workshop of basketmaker Bill Smith of Colton. The result is this photographic description of the step-by-step process of creating this regional icon–from cutting the perfect black ash log to weaving in the final splints. The exhibit includes a display of antique and contemporary packbaskets.
Bill_Smith
Traditionally made from native black ash, the packbasket originated with Native Americans, who passed the form on to white settlers. Sturdy carriers for outsdoorsmen to wear on their back, packbaskets have in modern times been supplanted by factory-made nylon backpacks. Yet labor-intensive packbaskets are still made in this region, mostly as items for hou
sehold use, and a few traditionalists still wear them in the woods.
Basketmaker
The “Anatomy of a Packbasket” exhibit and related workshops and programs are possible thanks to generous underwriting support from Gray & Gray CPAs, Canton, Coakley Carpet One Ace Hardware in Canton and Saranac Lake, and Hyde-Stone Mechanical Contractors.
