The People:
Dot Reece

Doris "Dot" Reece

At eighty, “Momma Dot”, Doris Reece (1910-1994) is the oldest woman Brasstown carver whose first exposure to the Appalachian carving tradition was through her friends and neighbors, Brasstown carvers Hope and Glenn Brown. “I believe my first carving was a cat.” She carves napkin rings, mice and opossums in walnut, cherry and buckeye and is best known for her cheerful baby pigs; each has its own subtle smile that delights and inspires the viewer. Dot Reece is a prolific carver capable of creating eighty carvings per month. Her works reflect a caring, positive and cheerful outlook on life.

Carving
A mouse carved by Dot Reece

“Momma Dot” spent most of her life farming and raising her family that now includes seven children, twenty grandchildren, and twenty-two great-grandchildren. After her children left home she worked at the old Providence Hospital and began carving in earnest. This outgoing lady is still very active and most any day you will find her working in her garden, picking vegetables or berries, canning, freezing, greeting visitors and carving.

- Transcribed from John C. Campbell Folk School, The Brasstown Carvers (1990),
with text by Bill Biggers, photographs by Werner Kahn and Bill Biggers.
Used with permission of the John C. Campbell Folk School.