Amanda Sprinkle weaves contemporary functional baskets using traditional techniques rooted in Appalachian and Indigenous cultures. Originally from Bluff City, Tennessee, and now based in Abingdon, Virginia, she wove her first basket in 1999 at a class her future mother-in-law invited her to, drawn immediately to the blend of artistry and functionality in the craft.
Sprinkle builds from a solid woven base and traditional basket forms, then expands on them through overlay, dye, and stain. Her overlays include Cherokee wheels, curls, and cross stitch patterns that weavers have used for hundreds of years. Her dyeing techniques, among them ombre and drip dye, are her own development. The resulting baskets read as modern to most observers while carrying centuries of technique in their structure.
She works in reed from the rattan plant with hardwood handles and bases made in the U.S., finished with commercial dyes and stains. In 2025 she was named a Tradition Bearer Fellow in basketry by the Bristol Roots Project, a collective of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, the Virginia Folklife Program, and Create Appalachia.
