For nearly 50 years, the National Hollerin’ Contest was held every third Saturday of June in Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina. Although the contest ended in 2016, it is a great piece of North Carolina history and the “semi-official” website is hosted by ibiblio!

The contest celebrates the folk tradition of hollering as a form of communication, which was popular in communities across the Southeast United States during the 18th and 19 centuries. In North Carolina, loggers transporting wood from Sampson County (where Spivey’s Corner is located) to Wilmington would holler to each other in order to avoid raft crashes and call for aid. To natives of Sampson County, hollering is viewed as an art form and taken very seriously!

Types of Hollers

While hollers can be used for basically any purpose imaginable, there are generally four types of hollers that are heard at the National Hollerin’ Contest. They are:

Distress Hollers

These hollers were historically used to alert neighbors of danger. This tone was commonly used to find lost children and bring attention to house fires.

Communicative Hollers

Since farmers often worked a mile or two away from each other, they would use hollers to say hello or confirm someone’s location. Nothing else was loud enough to be heard from that distance!

Functional Hollers

These were commonly used to round up animals such as pigs and cows. Each farmer had a set of unique calls so they wouldn’t disturb their neighbors’ dogs while trying to round up their own animals. Women also used functional hollers to call home to their families while working outside during the day.

Expressive Hollers

While the other forms of hollers are more functional, expressive hollers are just for fun! They can be to the tune of a song or be an impression, or they can be something completely made up. Many contestants have won the contest with this type of holler.

More Resources

If you want to see what it is like to be at the contest, check out this video from the 2015 event. Don’t forget to browse the Hollerin’ History site hosted by ibiblio!

Blender is a software used to create 3D art, games, printable models, and more. It is free to download and use, works on major operating systems, and is used by hobbyists and professionals alike. 

ibiblio hosts the site Greybeard’s Blender Tutorials which is home to a collection of videos that introduce you to Blender’s interface and walk you through different modeling techniques. The levels of difficulty range from beginner to expert, so there is something for everyone! Even if you don’t attempt to follow along, the tutorials are very entertaining—especially if you have ever been interested in game development or any part of the animation pipeline.

If you’re unable to watch the videos after downloading them to your computer, I suggest using an online video converter such as Cloud Convert to convert the .avi and .wmv files into .mp4 or .mov files. From there, you’ll be able to watch them directly on the website, or save them to your computer. Before using a video converting software or website, make sure it is safe to use and will not harm your device! 

The most recent version of Blender is 3.0.1, but the tutorials were made using versions 2.3 and 2.4. Although the current interface looks different than it does in the videos, the tips are still applicable! It may take some time to find the tabs and panels, but Blender labels all of the property panels and includes a help section in the menu bar as well. 

For updated tutorials and project inspiration, feel free to also check out Blender’s website!

 

One artist who houses their portfolio on ibiblio is Alexander Vaisman, a Yiddish artist whose work is inspired by Jewish culture. He was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine and currently resides in Israel. During his career, he has worked as a book illustrator and a poster designer, and his pieces have been featured in exhibitions in the United States and Israel. Vaisman works with oil paint, colored pencils, ink, pastel, gouache, acrylic paint, charcoal pencil, and watercolor. 

Series

Klezmorim

In Yiddish, klezmorim refers to a group of musicians who play traditional Yiddish music, called klezmer. Vaisman’s pieces in this collection are colorful and dynamic, featuring fiddlers in many different imaginative settings. My favorite images from this collection are this one done with ink on paper and this piece done with gouache!

When I Return… 

This collection, mostly done with oil paint on canvas, depicts elements of Jewish life and culture that have been important to Vaisman. Many of the images in this series focus on family, music, and his experience growing up in a Shtetl. A Shtetl simply means “town” in Yiddish, and it usually refers to an Eastern European village with a large Jewish community. Shtetls are rich in culture and tradition, and each town has its own identity and history. I love this piece, titled Butterfly, which is done with oil paint and has a unique abstract style.

Postcards from Shevchenkivtsi

These postcards are mixed media pieces that consist of photographs, ink drawings, and eclectic stamps. On some postcards Vaisman has added illustrations on top of pasted photographs; other cards only contain one media type. Vaisman uses a cool mark making technique on this postcard, and you should also check out the stamps on this one!

Yiddish Resources

To learn more about Yiddish culture, visit the site Shtetl, Yiddish Language and Culture! This site provides many Jewish genealogical resources, articles about Yiddish history in the 19th and 20th centuries, a catalog of Jewish artists, and even traditional recipes!