2007-2008 Apprenticeship Teams Announced

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities has announced the recipients of the 2007-2008 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship awards.

2007-2008 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Teams:

• Old Time Fiddler Mark Campbell and Apprentice Isaac Akers of Richmond
• Appalachian Storyteller Kathy Coleman and Apprentice Callie McCarty of Albemarle County, originally Wise County
• Traditional Appalachian Cooking Master Frances Davis and Apprentice Annie Elaine James of Franklin County
• Oyster Shucking Champion Deborah Pratt and Apprentice Teddy Bagby of Middlesex County
• Brick Work Master Jimmy Price and Apprentice Alex Handley of Amherst County 
• Guatemalan Sawdust Carpet (Alfombra) Artist Ubaldo Sanchez and Apprentice Jorge Cabrera of  Arlington 
• Ethiopian Church Worship Singer Moges Seyoum and Apprentice Bililign Mandefro of Alexandria
• Traditional Leatherwork Master Danny Wingate and Apprentice Matthew Todd of Grayson County
• Wooden Bowl Master Clyde Dylan and Apprentice Melba Seneff of Franklin County

The Master-Apprentice Program pairs an experienced master artist with an eager apprentice for a one-on-one, nine-month learning experience, in order to help ensure that a particular art form or folkway unique to Virginia is passed on in ways that are conscious of history and faithful to tradition. The nine month period of exchange already underway will culminate in a showcase at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, when each group will share the creative and inspiring results of their apprenticeship with the public.

The apprenticeships accomplish much more than the teaching and learning of a particular craft or skill.  During the apprenticeship period, the master artist and apprentice enter into a mutually enriching relationship which is both cultural and personal, connecting to lessons and memories from the past and shared visions for the future.

One Master-Apprentice pair already honing their craft are sisters Frances Davis and Annie Elaine James. Working together in Ms. Davis' bustling kitchen in Rocky Mount, VA, with her two young foster children chiming in, Annie James is learning the craft of Virginia country cooking from an experienced teacher. Ms. Davis, the "Fried Apple Pie Lady", has been offering her delicious fried-dough pies at church fairs and festivals around the state, including last year’s National Folk Festival in Richmond and the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival at Ferrum College.

Growing up on a farm as the oldest child in a large family, Frances learned how to cook and bake from her mother.  By the age of twelve, she had taken over all the cooking for her family, as well as childcare for her five siblings too young to work in the fields. Now retired from her job as a Special Education teacher in the Franklin County public schools, Ms. Davis is known all around the county for her lovingly-prepared homemade cakes and pies. She bakes "on commission", for special occasions or in response to requests from friends visiting loved ones in the hospital, for church fund-raisers and festivals. She has taught her skills in dough preparation and handling to Ferrum College students, Girl Scout troops, church members and Folk Festival attendees.

Now Ms. Davis is teaching her sister, younger by 18 years, to make pastries and desserts. While Annie James is an experienced cook, she’s been making pound cakes and biscuits "out of a box", and is eager to learn how to bake from scratch. She enjoys working with her sister and says they make a good team and have a good time together.

With a kitchen cabinet full of vegetables she has grown and canned herself, Frances Davis is proud of the agricultural and food preparation traditions she has learned from her family, and is committed to carrying on the art of cooking and baking from scratch. In her words, "When I grew up, my whole life as a child—well, I didn’t have a life as a child, because I had a big responsibility. Even today, I feel it is very important for every female and every male to be able to care for themselves. You cannot buy everything you want over the counter and still be able to make ends meet. If [the next generation] knew how to cook, they would be able to take a little money and provide for themselves and their families…When you come to my house, you know you’re not going to go hungry. My daddy taught me that you plant your food, you harvest your food—and then you go to the store to get what you want."

The first five years of the Folklife Apprenticeship Program is chronicled in In Good Keeping: Virginia's Folklife Apprenticeships.  Written by Jon Lohman, with 224 pages of evocative photographs of Virginia Master Folk artists and their apprentices, In Good Keeping celebrates a wide variety of folk traditions both old and new to Virginia.  Order your copy today!