Report of an Exploratory Study Looking Toward a Craft Education Project in the Southern Highlands

In 1944, the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild and the Southern Highlanders, Inc. received a $6,000 grant from the General Education Board to study the field of crafts as an income-producing venture in the southern Appalachian area. Grant staff surveyed working craft artists, productions centers, and craft shops in the eight-state region defined as the Southern Highlands. Questionnaires were completed and craft artists, instructors, and shop owners were also interviewed. The findings of the survey are presented in this "Report of an Exploratory Study Looking Toward a Craft Education Project in the Southern Highlands." The report was written by Craft Education Program director Marian Heard (often referred to as the Heard report). This report gives an overview of the range of craft products, craft mediums, craft artists, and the economic impact on individuals and the region at large. The report ends with a series of recommendations to improve the education of craft artists, the quality of craft product, and the marketing of craft products. The General Education Board subsequently supported these recommendations by funding a second grant of $45,000 in 1945 for a three-year craft education program. This new craft education program helped open the way for a second Craft Revival period which emerged at the close of World War II