CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Corey Alston has been weaving sweetgrass baskets for 23 years. The tradition he carries stretches back through generations of Gullah Geechee heritage, and now he honors and preserves it.
A native of the Long Point Road area, Alston didn’t grow up making baskets. Instead, he married into the art form 23 years ago.
“I wasn’t raised as a sweetgrass basketmaker,” Alston said. “But I married into a fifth-generation family of weavers. When the matriarch of the family was still alive, she allowed me to become a basketmaker because my bloodline is pure. I am Gullah Geechee by blood, I am keeping the heritage alive within the family.”…