Woodcarving: goose hissing and large bird

This hissing goose (back left ) and large bird (front right) were carved out of buckeye by Glenn Brown and Hope Caler Brown, respectively. The large bird is marked "pattern," indicating an original prototype. Glen Brown was known for his carvings of geese, guinea fowl, and other birds. He began carving in 1939 with John C. Campbell Folk School instructor Murrial Martin and sold his work through the Folk School's woodcarving cooperative that became known as the Brasstown Carvers. He was joined a year later by his wife, Hope. Having raised eight children, Hope Brown has said that carving kept the family off welfare. In 1942 Glenn Brown earned $161 from carving, a substantial sum at the time. In 1944, when the school woodshop burned, the Browns lost their carving patterns. They moved temporarily to take up factory work, but later returned to Brasstown