Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Billie Ruth Sudduth

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.suddut07
Creators:
Sudduth, Billie Ruth
Riedel, Mija, 1958-
Dates:
2007 July 26-27
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
3 Sound discs
Sound recording (4 hr., 42 min.)
digital
2 5/8 in.
81 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
An interview of Billie Ruth Sudduth conducted 2007 July 26-27, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at the artist's home and studio, in Bakersville, North Carolina.
Scope and Contents
Sudduth speaks of her childhood in Alabama; her adoptive family; growing up in a creative and musical environment; an early exposure to women working with their hands; buying a Cherokee basket at age 12; childhood piano lessons and later exploring rhythm in her baskets; attending Huntingdon College; a strained relationship with her mother; meeting her biological family; attending the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and earning a Master's degree in social work; working as a social worker and psychologist for over 20 years; balancing a career with family; taking a basket-making class in an effort to relax and do something for herself; making baskets in spare time and teaching herself new techniques; her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada; teaching basket-making classes to adults; developing Math in a Basket curriculum; an interest in Fibonacci and the inclusion of its ratio in her baskets; an interest in color and natural dyes; returning to North Carolina and focusing full time on basket making; receiving a North Carolina Arts Council Emerging Artists grant to photo-document her body of work; becoming interested in chaos theory and its application to her basketry; the popularity and success of Math in a Basket; teaching experiences at Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and John Campbell Folk School; receiving a North Carolina Arts Council Visual Artist grant to study Cherokee, Choctaw, and other Native American tribes' basketry; her extensive basket collection; the honor of being named a North Carolina Living Treasure; participating in juried shows, including exhibiting at the Smithsonian Craft Show for 12 years and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show for seven years; the evolution of her workspace and studio; making the Carolina snowflake, which was exhibited at the White House; her exhibition history; an increasing respect for and recognition of baskets as art objects; the advantages university-trained artists have over self-taught artists; learning the business side of art making through trial and error; living and working in an incredible community of artists and collectors in North Carolina; a growing interest and participation in donating her baskets for fundraisers; and looking forward to spending more time with her grandchildren. Sudduth also recalls Cynthia Bringle, Carol Sedestrom Ross, Kenneth Trapp, Howard Risatti, Katie Gingrass, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Billie Ruth Sudduth is a basketmaker from Bakersville, North Carolina. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is a curator and writer from San Francisco, California.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Digital Content


More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 42 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Basket makers -- North Carolina -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Basket making Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Decorative arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Psychologists -- North Carolina Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Social workers -- North Carolina Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bringle, Cynthia, 1939- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gingrass, Katie Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Risatti, Howard, 1943- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ross, Caroline Sedestrom Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Trapp, Kenneth R. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Huntingdon College (Montgomery, Ala.) -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
John Campbell Folk School -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Penland School of Crafts -- Faculty Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
University of Alabama -- Students Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smithsonian Craft Show Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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