The southern portion of the Cherokee National Forest is as much a place of beauty as it is a wonderland for play, relaxation, exploration, and discovery. A popular tourist attraction, the Overhill is also home to an exceptional group of master craftsmen, artisans, and inventors whose work is a direct reflection of the environment and how they negotiate that environment on a daily basis. With These Hands is an exhibition of forest related folk arts made by those living in the Overhill. This exhibition is the result of fieldwork documenting occupational and recreational uses of the forest in the Overhill counties of Polk, McMinn and Monroe. Folk art of the Overhill speaks to the creativity and imagination of the local residents. Hunting, game calls, taxidermy, gold-panning, gunsmithing, woodcarving, leather work, knife-making, fishing, and sawmilling are just a sample of some of art forms identified and recorded for this show.

Funding provided by
Funding for this exhibition was made possible through Tennessee Arts Commission, with additional support from National Endowment for the Arts, USDA Forest Service, and Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Research was funded in part by Appalachian Regional Commission.