STYLE IN SWIFT CREEK PADDLE ART

Abstract

Woodland period Swift Creek designs have received considerable attention in recent years. Bettye Broyles and Frankie Snow, among few others, have created a working corpus within which stylistic aspects of Swift Creek designs can be explored. Here, we focus both on “observer” models that governed acceptable visual form and on “task” models used by Swift Creek artisans to produce that form by creating paddle designs. Reconstructed procedures for several paddle designs emphasize the stepwise nature of creating art in this style. We discuss the key importance of guide points, guidelines, and creatively manipulated bandwork in Swift Creek compositions. Using this approach, we hope to demonstrate the value of reconstructed whole paddle designs in the study of layout, symmetry, design concept, and other stylistic domains. Finally, we chart the historical trajectories of selected style characteristics through time and offer suggestions for future research in this domain.