Craft and Conversation: Cherokee Artists Visit Warren Wilson

Vivian Bryan | April 1, 2026

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Artist Betty Maney holds a piece of river cane at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 25, 2026. (Vivian Bryan/Echo News)

Hand tools sit above a pile of river cane harvested by artist Betty Maney at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 25, 2026. (Vivian Bryan/Echo News)

Cherokee artist Betty Maney presents students a traditional woven mat at the Warren Wilson workshop in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 25, 2026. (Vivian Bryan/Echo)

Junior Anathea Ball practices weaving based on a Cherokee pattern at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 25, 2026. (Vivian Bryan/Echo News)

Artist Betty Maney and fiber arts instructor Melanie Weidler hold harvested, mature river cane to show students during a workshop at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 25, 2026. (Vivian Bryan/Echo News)

Cherokee artist Mary Thompson’s baskets sit on display at the Garden Cabin during a demonstration at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. (Vivian Bryan/Echo) 

Mary Thompson’s white oak baskets and wood splints are displayed on a table in the Garden Cabin during a workshop at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 26. (Vivian Bryan/Echo)

Junior Cecilia Oseguera uses hand tools to thin a river cane splint during a workshop at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 26. (Vivian Bryan/Echo)

Mary Thompson using hand knife to split river cane during workshop at Warren Wilson college in Swannanoa NC March 26 (Vivian Bryan/Echo) 

A community member scrapes a river cane splint during a basket-weaving workshop at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 26. (Vivian Bryan/Echo)

River cane splints before processing sit on a table at the Garden Cabin at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., on March 25. (Vivian Bryan/Echo)