Lenoir, NC – Have an old chair with a broken bottom or back? Come get it fixed, and learn about the traditional American art of caning chairs. Cost per person is $100.
Materials Required: One pair of scissors, an office stapler with staples, a pair of needle-nosed pliers, a blunt, non-serrated knife (i.e. butter knife), 2 spring-loaded clamps and a round railed chair to be repaired. No rocking chairs please.
Michael Dees, Master Caner, moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia from Fayetteville, NC in the late 70’s, became immersed in Appalachian culture, and realized that many of the cultural traditions were dying at an alarming rate. He learned Seven Step Caning from a local couple, studied and researched various patterns and materials used in chair weaving, and after 35 years and hundreds of chair seats, he has become a Master Caner, one of less than 100 in the United States. Michael is the curator and an instructor at Chestnut Creek School of the Arts of Galax, VA., an occasional instructor at Florence Thomas Art School in West Jefferson, NC, and Studio Redwood in Sparta, NC, and a member of ‘Round the Mountain Artisans Guild of Southwest Virginia.
Patterson School Foundation is located at 4646 Patterson School Drive-Hwy 268, Lenoir, NC 28645. Contact [email protected] with questions, to pay by check, or for large group discounts.
