Home / What's Going On / Press Releases / 5-2-2011

Make an Heirloom Basket with Master Craftsman Neal Thomas

Neal Thomas. Image courtesy of the N.C. Museum of History.

With master craftsman Neal Thomas, you can create a traditional basket that can become a family heirloom. Make a sturdy, white oak basket during a workshop with Thomas on Saturday, May 14, from noon to 5 p.m. at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. From start to finish, the basket will be crafted using traditional materials and methods. In fact, prior to the workshop, Thomas will make all the white oak “splints” that participants will use to weave their one-gallon baskets. The workshop costs $85 ($75 for Museum Associates), which includes supplies, and is for ages 14 and up. To register, call 919-807-7992.

Thomas never uses ready-made materials. His baskets begin in the forest, where he searches for white oak trees. He cuts one down, splits the tree trunk into quarters lengthwise, and then splits the quarters into long, flat “splints” that will be used to weave baskets.

The master craftsman has been making baskets for 40 years. Each year, he demonstrates his skills in the Village of Yesteryear at the N.C. State Fair.

When Thomas was about 20, he learned the traditional methods by watching a Johnston County basketmaker. It took Thomas about a year to make his first basket from scratch. He enjoys every part of his craft, from finding the tree to admiring a finished basket. He worries he might have to stop, because it’s getting harder to find white oak. “I just love making baskets,” he says.

For more information call 919-807-7900 or access ncmuseumofhistory.org or Facebook. The museum is located at 5 E. Edenton Street, across from the State Capitol. Parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street.

The N.C. Museum of History is located at 5 E. Edenton St. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum of History, within the Division of State History Museums, is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.