Bernyce Courtney (Warm Springs) is a weaver of traditional Wasco full-turn twining. Courtney originally learned from a non-native, and now works to revive the art of twining within the Warm Springs Tribe. Courtney was a master artist in the Oregon Folklife Program’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.
Bio
Bernyce Courtney is a traditional weaver of Wasco and Tlingit heritage. Courtney, who does full-turn twining, was one of three women from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs who participated in the Oregon Folklife Program’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. In her youth, Courtney did not know any Wasco weavers because most had passed away. In 1990, however, Courtney was able to participate in “waking up” and revivifying the traditional craft by studying with Mary Schlick, a non-Indigenous woman who lived for many years on the Warm Springs Reservation. Since then, Courtney’s artistic skills and dedication have been instrumental in reintegrating this traditional craft. Courtney starts her basket by cutting cotton string or yarn into strands. She lays out the strands in a weaver and spoke pattern to form what she calls the “belly button” (knot-like center on what will become the basket bottom). She weaves the strings round and round until the bottom starts taking shape, eventually turning up. Courtney then adds a second color and starts the full turn twining technique that brings the traditional designs to the foreground. In recognition of her skill, Courtney was commissioned to make a beautiful flat woven piece that hangs in a central area of the Health Center on the Reservation.
