Mary Jackson has devoted her life to keeping her family history alive through basket making, and to bringing the low country tradition of sweetgrass basket making to a high art form — sought after by collectors, art museums, and even American embassies in foreign countries.

 

Jackson’s work was honored in September with a special exhibition at the American Craft Museum in New York. She was one of 20 artists included in “Objects for Use: Handmade by Design.” She has also been included in the “Friends of Art and Preservation in Embassies” program, which raises funds to place the work of American artists in the permanent collections of foreign embassies. To mark the occasion, she was invited to a White House reception given by President and Mrs. Bush, and a dinner given by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

These accomplishments hold great meaning for Jackson, who was first taught to make sweetgrass baskets by her mother and grandmother, who learned from their mothers and grandmothers. Along with passing their techniques down through the generations, they also passed down a rich oral history of their families, who first came to this country as slaves.

“Cobra with Handle,” made of sweetgrass, palmetto and bulrush.

Sweetgrass is indigenous to Charleston’s low country area, along the coast of South Carolina. Jackson’s family was brought here, sold into slavery nearly 300 years ago. Basket makers who work in this local tradition have traced its origins back to the West Coast of Africa, where Jackson’s ancestors were originally captured and sold by slave traders.

Sweetgrass (botanical name: Muhlenbergia filipes) grows in swamp-like areas along the coast, and gets its common name from the sweet fragrance it carries when the sea breezes rustle through its long reeds. It is the primary material used in low country basketry, which also incorporates bulrush and palmetto strips for coiling. For Jackson, this rich history, and closely guarded technique, have brought the sweet smell of success.

Not only has Jackson gained accolades for the artistry she has brought to this traditional, functional medium, but she has brought national recognition to the low country style of basket making, which has helped other basket makers in her community make a living from the craft.

Jackson was first exposed to basket making at the age of four, by her grandmother. The family lived in Mount Pleasant, S.C., which is where the technique was developed. To this day, it is only practiced in the coastal communities surrounding Charleston. “During the summer months,” says Jackson, “there wasn’t much to do other than sit with my grandmother and learn to make baskets. This is a rural area, there wasn’t much else going on. Everyone made baskets.”

Sweetgrass baskets have always been an integral part of life in this region, she adds. “Men and women made baskets, and the men used them for harvesting rice and cotton on the plantations. Eventually, men stopped actually making baskets, but continued to use them for harvest.”

In the 1920s, there were 2,500 families actively involved in making baskets using this technique. Today there are about 200 families still carrying on the tradition, she says. “It used to be that you only taught members of your own family, and for the most part, that is still happening … but now it is being taught to spouses and extended families.” A few make a living selling these baskets to tourists, but most make and sell baskets part time, while working at other jobs full time.

Taking her baskets to new heights

Jackson is proud to be making a living from it, and has made it her mission to tell the world about her baskets, their history and the story of how the baskets came to be. She has been quite successful.

Though she had always practiced basket making, she didn’t consider doing it full time until 1980, when her then 18-month-old son was diagnosed with chronic asthma. At the time, she was working as an executive secretary at a large medical organization in Charleston. It was a good job, one she liked very much. But she decided to give it up so that she could take care of her son.

“Oval Vessel with Sweetgrass Spray,” made of sweetgrass, palmetto and bulrush, by Mary Jackson.

She made baskets in her free time, and developed her own contemporary designs using the centuries-old techniques her forebears taught her. Eventually, she decided to make some extra money by selling the baskets, but wasn’t sure how well her interpretations of these traditional baskets would be received. She exhibited at a local market on weekends and was astounded when they started selling out. “The community saw these different forms,” recalls Jackson, “and started buying them. I had taken the sweetgrass basket making tradition to a whole new contemporary level. Soon collectors discovered my work, and I began to get commissions … from that point, I knew it would be successful.”

Jackson continued to sell at local shows, then eventually started traveling to shows around the country. She seemed to find buyers wherever she went. “Everyone has been to Charleston,” she says, “and I found collectors of low country style baskets all over the country. People recognized the technique, but appreciated the contemporary shapes.”

In 1984, Jackson exhibited her work at the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C. It was the show’s second year. Her baskets sold out. She has been doing that show almost every year since. In addition, she exhibits in other prestigious craft venues around the country, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, the Washington Craft Show and several American Craft Council shows, to name a few. Her work is also in many museums around the country, and is sought after by high-profile collectors. Even Prince Charles owns one of her baskets.

Publicity feeds publicity

She has publicity to thank for some of her highest profile clientele. A story in National Geographic in 1987 about changes and developments in South Carolina’s Sea Islands gave her international exposure, and led to some other national publicity. She has been featured on “The Today Show” with Bryant Gumbel, and her work has appeared in National Wildlife, Southern Living and Southern Accents magazines. “I have actually had to turn down some interviews because they take time away from my work.”

“Traditional Grain Storage Basket I.”

Jackson has little time to spare. In addition to selling her work at high-end shows in Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago and New York — she has collectors waiting two to three years for a commissioned basket. Some of her baskets sell for as much as $20,000.

Her work has come a long way from its simple, practical origins along the South Carolina coast. “My mother and grandmother used to sell these baskets for $2 to $3 apiece,” she says, with a note of nostalgia in her voice. A long way, indeed.

Living tradition

Despite her travels, her high-profile collectors and the honors and awards, Jackson still enjoys the simple low country coastal lifestyle. She is still committed to passing on the family’s traditional style of basket making to her daughter and granddaughter. Today, Jackson lives on James Island, just off the coast, not far from where she grew up. Her husband, Stoney, son Aaron (age 22), and daughter April (age 32), are all heavily involved in Jackson’s business, Mary A. Jackson Sweetgrass Baskets. Her studio is located on adjacent Johns Island, just a short trip over the bridge.

Her husband and son gather the sea grasses she uses in her work. “I don’t use any commercial materials,” she says, adding, however, that she has incorporated some materials into her baskets that her elders would not have considered traditional. These include pine needles for accents and palmetto fibers from the palmetto tree for coiling. Still, all of these materials are collected by hand.

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Mary Jackson Sweetgrass Baskets Box 12027 Charleston, SC 29422

Her daughter helps in the office with administrative duties. “At this point, April doesn’t have the same level of interest in the actual basket making that I do, but I’m working on my grandbaby Amauri,” she laughs. She is just three years old, but already has her own bone (a tool which resembles the handle of a wooden spoon). She can also identify sweetgrass, Jackson adds.

Perhaps someday Amauri will realize what her grandmother has brought to the family tradition of sweetgrass basket making — how she has transformed it from a simple utilitarian craft to an art form that represents an important chapter of American history.