Basketry artist and Martin County native, Judy Wobbleton has been creatively weaving baskets for over 35 years. Using traditional techniques she creates functional pieces influenced by Native American and traditional Appalachian designs. Her work has been featured in several publications including The Basket Book, Basketmakers’ Baskets, Craft Works in the Home, A Basketmaker’s Odyssey: Over, Under, Around & Through, and The Ultimate Basket Book. She is also a highly sought after teacher at conventions and seminars. In addition to weaving, Judy devotes a great deal of her time to the Martin County Arts Council and The North Carolina Basketmakers Association, which she cofounded. She strives to pass on the appreciation for the arts and particularly the art and tradition of basketry to future generations.
I’m pleased that my Swedish Star has been selected for the cover of the December 2011 issue of North Carolina’s magazine (shown at left).
The magazine’s title page had this to say:
Martin County native Judy Wobbleton was a young military wife when she took her first basket-weaving class, offered free to Air Force spouses at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro. Her son, then a toddler, carried around his collection of Hot Wheels cars in the first basket she ever made. For the next 30 years, Wobbleton refined her craft, drawing on American Indian techniques and even making her own stains for the delicate reed from the abundance of black walnut trees found throughout eastern North Carolina. In 1986, she cofounded the North Carolina Basketmakers Association; now, with 1,100 members, it’s the largest organized basket- making association in the nation. This month, Wobbleton’s red-reed, woven ornament serves as the perfect symbol of holiday hospitality. The design originated centuries ago as the Swedish star, a symbol of goodwill intended to be hung in a window at Christmastime, welcoming neighbors and friends.
Cover photography by Stacey Haines
Baskets by Judy 