Part of Tennessee oldest coopering families, Renee Stewart specializes in carving animal and human figures, including dogs, raccoons, mules, horses, ladies washing clothes and farmers in overalls. Renee learned woodcarving skills from her grandfather, Alex Stewart, a recipient of the 1983 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. As a young girl, Renee would sit and carve with Alex in the evenings (Core 2003). Renee’s brother Rick Stewart is a cooper like his grandfather and taught his own son Brendon as part of the 2018 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Renee has knowledge of coopering, and occasionally assists her brother with his tubs, buckets, and piggins. She also makes miniature coopered items. She excels in carving naturalistic, realistic, properly proportioned animal and human figures, specializing in animals native or common to the woodland South (Woodside 127). Both Renee and Rick are featured in Robert Cogswell’s 2010 book Tradition: Tennessee Lives and Legacies.
Even though woodworking has been in Renee’s family for at least five generations, the skills needed are quickly vanishing in Tennessee. She explains, “Woodcarving and whittling have been traditional art forms here in Hancock County for generations. With the passing of time, and in my lifetime, there has been a change. No longer do people sit in front of the courthouse and whittle or carve. People seem too busy to practice carving. Yet, the county is blessed with a variety of trees, many of which are ideal for carving. This family tradition is disappearing.” Renee works to keep this tradition alive by demonstrating her craft at festivals around the state. She has been participating in Hancock County’s Fall Festival for over 40 years, sharing demonstration space with her grandfather and brother. She has also demonstrated woodcarving at Mountain Makins’ Festival in Morristown, the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Historic Rugby, the Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville, the Appalachian State Fair in Gray, and Exchange Place in Kingsport. She also teaches carving to local groups of 4-H students.
As part of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program this year, Renee will teach Christi Fleenor, a friend she has known for over 40 years. Christi’s family has lived in Hancock County for generations just like the Stewarts. Christi excels in quilting and drawing and has shared a demonstration booth with Renee at the Fall Festival for the past five years. A few months ago, Christi expressed interest in learning to carve. Christi was “intrigued by how a block of wood could be transformed into a lifelike carving” and is highly motivated to learn and master carving on her own. She explains, “I have always admired Renee’s ability to carve..I would like to learn how to identify wood types and what types are suitable for carving, what tools are used for carving, the process of carving and be able to carve objects on my own as my grandfather did.” Recognizing the urgency of the tradition, she states, “It is a rare trade that is not being passed own to younger generations and will eventually become extinct.”
Sources:
Core, Jennifer C. “Brief Biography of Renee Stewart, Carver.” Nashville: Tennessee Arts Commission Folklife Program, Jan. 23, 2003.
Woodside, Jane Harris. “From Farm to Festival: Crafts in the Clinch River Valley.” Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin 53.4 (Winter 1989): 118-129. Photo of Renee Stewart by Kenneth Murray appears on the cover of the bulletin. Article details fieldwork with Rick Stewart, Renee Stewart, Jesse and Bertha Jones, and “Ivan White.”
