THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701210420
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: 89 lines
There was a time when kudzu was so admired in the South that it appeared the vine would replace cotton as the South's main agricultural crop.
``Cotton isn't king here anymore,'' announced Channing Cope who wrote for the Atlanta Constitution. ``Kudzu is King!''
Cope founded the Kudzu Club of America and throughout the 1940s, he pushed the vine as the up-and-coming crop in the South.
Kudzu's strong vines were great to control erosion and its big spade-shaped leaves were good feed for livestock, especially in droughts. Imported from Asia in the late 1800s, it was first used as a handsome substitute for ivy on verandas and in gardens.
But kudzu has other strengths, too, one being its ability to grow a foot or more in a single day. Before its supporters knew what was happening, kudzu's fast-growing tendrils had covered 2 million acres of forest in the South, choking out trees, houses and anything else in its path. Poet James Dickey called it ``the vegetable form of cancer.''
Although kudzu can be found in this area, its growth has not been as rampant as it was farther south, said Extension Agent Randy Jackson. Kudzu stands are localized here, not widespread. Jackson recalled seeing kudzu on Oceana Boulevard near the railroad tracks, which he believes had grown so out of control that it is now being kept in check with herbicides.
``It had been planted there to stabilize a sand dune,'' he said, ``and it was taking over everything, growing up over the tree tops.''
Some folks, however, have a renewed appreciation for the vine. Beach artist Mark Barnes is one of them, and the lack of kudzu here is a problem for him. He uses the strong vines to weave baskets and must drive as far as Suffolk every time he needs to replenish his supplies.
Barnes, who is the chef at Tentop Cafe in Norfolk, has been weaving baskets since last summer. That's when he took a course in kudzu basketry at the John. C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C. Before then he had been ``playing around with art,'' but had never found anything to hold his interest.
Now Barnes is hooked.
In the past six months, he has woven 50 or more kudzu baskets in all shapes and sizes, from large flat catering baskets that he often uses at work for arrangements of breads, cheese or vegetables, to small baskets with a flat side for hanging on a wall.
He also makes deep, round handleless baskets that could sit on the floor or kitchen counter and oval baskets, woven with split kudzu, which shows both the dark woody outer side of the vine and the light creamy inner side.
Although Barnes has been selling his baskets at Tentop Cafe, he found instant success at an arts and crafts show in December when he sold around 20 of his creations. He sells his baskets, which average $25 apiece, from his home also.
After becoming inspired at the folk school, Barnes returned to Virginia Beach and began looking for the vine, expecting it to be an easy search. ``I drove around and around and I couldn't find any here,'' he said. ``So I figured the best thing to do was to drive toward North Carolina.''
The first kudzu he found was near Franklin. Now, fortunately he has found another source in Suffolk. To find one in Virginia Beach would be even better, he said.
``I would love it,'' he said, ``even if it was in Chesapeake, it would be a lot nicer.''
Barnes is a kudzu fan for lots of reasons. The vine is strong, but it is also flexible, which makes it easy to shape and weave. It's easy to split, too, he said and grows in a variety of thicknesses.
``The other good thing about kudzu,'' Barnes added, ``is that it grows very straight, unlike grape vines that grow around trees and are hard to extract.'' So if you have some kudzu, growing straight, right into your tree tops, and you don't feel quite as fondly toward it, give Barnes a call at 495-2373 and he'll come take some of it away for you.
P.S. A representative of the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville will speak on wetlands management and other local issues at a meeting of the Virginia Beach Audubon Society at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church, 2020 Laskin Road. The meeting is open to the public.
An introductory walk will take place at 1 p.m. today at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Refuge volunteer Reese Lukei will lead the walk, which is free although a refuge entrance fee is charged. No reservations are necessary. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know
about Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555.
Enter category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet
address: mbarrow(AT)infi.net ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Mary Reid Barrow
Mark Barnes weaves baskets of all shapes and sizes from kudzu vines.