A square of black walnut, planed smooth, its grain running in straight dark chocolate stripes against a warmer red-brown ground.
  • The same square tilted to catch the light, the grain reading glossier and warmer and the thinness of the sample visible along its edge.

Black walnut is a hardwood native to the central and eastern United States. The wood is dense with a generally straight, fine-to-medium grain and a smooth surface character.

Composition

Black walnut wood

Handling Notes

  • Black walnut works well for sculptures and large figures with simple lines, signs, and relief carvings
  • Walnut husk can be used to produce a strong, permanent, brownish-black dye

Applications in Craft

Keywords

Provenance

Professional Crafts at Haywood Community College, Clyde, North Carolina. Acquired 2024.

Sources

  • “Elsie Watty,” Cherokee Traditions, Western Carolina University, n.d., https://www.wcu.edu/library/digitalcollections/cherokeetraditions/people/Baskets_ElsieWatty.html .

In Use

Have you used this material?

Please contact Mellanee Goodman, Program Director, Curator, and Materials Specialist, to start a conversation about submitting your work for inclusion on this site.

mgoodman@centerforcraft.org