My Edmond Outlook: Peggy Brennan

Name: Peggy Brennan
Edmond Resident Since: 1960

What do you feel makes you unique to Edmond?
I grew up in Edmond and stayed to participate in the culture of Edmond – I’m a Graduate of
Edmond schools, including UCO, plus eight years of employment at CSU for the Dean of Students. While living in Edmond, I founded the Oklahoma Native American Basketweavers Association. I have taught basketry at the Edmond Fine Arts Center and at UCO.

Tell me about your basket weaving.
I prepare wood splints by scraping and cutting into 1/4th of an inch, or even narrower. Some of the splints are naturally dyed to create patterns. I use black ash, white oak and maple to weave
Cherokee twill designs in plaited baskets.

What is the most unique basket you’ve ever made?
I collaborated with a friend to enter a basket in an art contest. I wove the Cherokee double-walled basket with honeysuckle. On the outside wall, I wove in her beaded deer skin strip.

How did you first learn, or get started?
Mavis Doering, a master basket weaver, taught a class on the Cherokee double-walled basket. I am self taught in other forms of basketry though. In fact, when I started weaving, the current two local basket weaving guilds were not even available at that time.

Where are your baskets sold?
My baskets are one of a kind, so I sell them in
galleries and museum shops on request. I also sell
by commission.

How does a buyer connect with you?
They can find me on Facebook or they can visit my website at www.cherokeebaskets.org.

If you had one big break – what would be your dream come true?
To spend time with another Indian tribe learning their techniques of gathering, processing materials and weaving.

What’s the greatest challenge you’ve faced in your life?
Being a member of the curatorial team and a field worker for Carriers of Culture program with MSU, where our team assisted in choosing participants, in preparing literature, and in planning the 40th Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival area in the D.C. National Mall.

What’s the most daring adventure you’ve ever been on?
A winter trip to Europe with Keith Secola and His Wild Band of Indians, and Native artists. Adventures included sleeping in a heated bomb shelter in Austria with only a cot and one army blanket, plus shared showers and toilets. We spent the last few nights in Germany, housed at an  American Army Base, again with one blanket and only a cot.