It's Easter - GOT BASKET?

Billie Ruth Sudduth is one of Western North Carolina's natural resources. A basket maker of reknown, she has taught at Penland School of Crafts; John C. Campbell Folk school, and Arrowmont as well as conducting numerous workshops throughout the country. 

Billie Ruth's baskets are now in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Art and Design in New York, Charles A Wustum Museum of Fine Art in Racine, Wisconsin, the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, the Asheville Art Museum in North Carolina, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Alabama. They are also included in corporate and private collections. Her highest honor came in 1997 when she was named a Living Treasure by the State of North Carolina. This award, presented to one craftsperson every other year, is the state's highest honor in the field of crafts. She was the tenth recipient of this award and the first female to be honored. In 2002, she was awarded the Alumni Achievement Award by her alma mater, Huntingdon College, and in 2005, The President's Medal for Achievement. In 2004-2005, she was awarded an Individual Visual Artist Fellowship by the North Carolina Arts Council. She was invited to be Honor's Day speaker at the University of Alabama (where she received her master's degree). She has been selected to exhibit at the prestigious Smithsonian Craft Show for the past thirteen years.

Learn more about Billie Ruth Sudduth or purchase one of her baskets online HERE.

egg basket

herringbone twill

contemporary cat's head basket