Longleaf Art & Literature

LONGLEAF Art SPOTLIGHT

Clay Burnette

1. FROM NATURE 12”H x 12”W x 15”

2. TIPPING POINT 14”H x 21”W x 21”

3. WEDGED TOGETHER 10”H x 9”W x 25”L

4. WHY KNOT? 8”H x 14”W x 18”D

ABOUT THE ART

I use the basic basketmaking technique of coiling to create contemporary shapes that incorporate lots of patience, persistence, and imagination. I begin the process by gathering fresh pine needles from longleaf pine trees that grow in the sandhills of South Carolina. The needles are colored with fabric dyes, acrylic paints, and iridescent inks, then sewn into coils using various colors of waxed linen thread. My tools are simple: a large steel upholstery needle and a pair of sharp-pointed scissors. When completed, each piece is preserved with a light coating of beeswax and signed with my initials. I follow no patterns and make no preliminary sketches before I begin a basket. Time is irrelevant whenever I am stitching. Exploring color, pattern, texture, and form keeps me focused on the moment but always thinking of what is yet to come. I treat each basket as a new adventure.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

South Carolinian Clay Burnette is a self-taught pine needle basketmaker, coiling longleaf pine needles with waxed linen thread for almost 45 years. His work is included in numerous public and private collections and has been exhibited in over 250 venues throughout the U.S. and abroad. Significant exhibitions include Rooted, Revived, Reinvented: Basketry in America (2017-2020), Tradition/Innovation: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft & Traditional Art (20072013), Contemporary International Basketry (1999-2000 in the United Kingdom), and 100 Years - 100 Artists: Views of the 20th Century in South Carolina Art (2000). In 2013 and 2019, his work received the Award of Excellence from the National Basketry Organization. He is the recipient of the South Carolina Arts Commission’s Craft Fellowship for 2022, which he also received in 1988. Burnette lives in Columbia, South Carolina.

For more about the artist, visit clayburnette.com or find Clay on social media: Clay Burnette, basketmaker (Facebook), clayburnettebaskets (Instagram), or PineNeedleBasketsCB (Etsy).

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LONGLEAFLITERATURE

The Secret Explorers and the Plant Poachers

By SJ King DK Publishing, 2021

Reviewed by Sarah Crate, The Longleaf Alliance

The Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is one of the most recognized plants worldwide. Even among carnivorous plants, their unique snap traps set them apart, captivating people’s imaginations and inspiring their numerous appearances in art and literature. Unfortunately, their fictionalization has fostered many misconceptions about the plant, including its size and habitat. Beyond the sensationalized meateating plant in Little Shop of Horrors, numerous lesser but still detrimental flytrap fallacies are presented across many media types. I recall venting to my then threeyear-old when an educational children’s program used a Venus flytrap image to depict Malaysian carnivorous plants. From my time as an environmental educator in North Carolina, this struck a nerve as many people falsely assume “exotic” flytraps are found in distant tropical jungles. In reality, these natives thrive in the pine savannas of coastal North and South Carolina. So, I was both excited and skeptical when I learned that the newest installment of a favorite children’s book series, The Secret Explorers, would feature Venus flytraps and, better yet, was actually set in North Carolina. In The Plant Poachers, the explorers are on a rescue mission for stolen flytraps. Along the way, they discuss flytrap biology and encounter a handful of native wildlife during their search for the poachers. The final “Mission Notes” provide helpful summaries and graphics on the featured species. There are even quiz questions and a glossary too. The book does a good job introducing important concepts — the need to protect rare plants, why some plants are

carnivorous, and the specifics on how flytraps’ snap traps work. It is not often that a rare plant is the “star,” and I am thrilled to see Venus flytraps featured in a book series alongside familiar childhood subjects like dinosaurs and tropical rainforests. My favorite part is when one of the explorers sees a flytrap for the first time, saying, “I thought they’d be bigger.” I’ve heard the same sentiment time and time again from people as they experience their first flytrap. Their surprise in the flytrap’s small size is a perfect opportunity to introduce the concept of “good fire” and how flytrap habitat benefits from regular fire to reduce competition from larger plants. Unfortunately, this aspect of flytrap ecology is not mentioned; instead, the habitat descriptions and illustrations elicit closed-canopy imagery. While the book’s geography is correct, the author missed a chance to introduce other unique species which could co-occur in these ecosystems, including the iconic longleaf pine and the redcockaded woodpecker. Still, I’ll happily read this book with my children and recommend it to others. However, I encourage all readers (and their adults) to delve deeper to identify the most significant threats to Venus flytraps. While poaching is a concern (and a felony in North Carolina), flytrap habitat loss due to development, hydrologic alterations, and fire suppression is of greater concern. I suggest visiting venusflytrapchampions.org for a wonderful, comprehensive collection of information, management, and research.

The Secret Explorers is a fiction chapter books series featuring eight children from around the world who have expertise in different areas like engineering, geology, or paleontology. Their exciting missions combine real-life facts and cartoon illustrations to engage science-loving early readers.

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