MEET THE ARTIST

Andrew & Etta McCall started out as self-taught basket weavers and furniture makers in Alabama. Over the 30 years they have been making art, their work has evolved to include their own unique style of birdhouses, angels, and other artistic expressions. Andrew and Etta believe their guidance and inspiration comes from God.

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The McCall’s baskets are made from grapevines, wisteria vines, Kudzu vines, and willow branches harvested from the surrounding woodlands.  The birdhouses and churches are created from heart pine and tin recycled from old houses being torn down, and occasionally they come across other antique woods in which they use in their artistic creations. They sometimes mix antique wood and vines to create distinctive tables and chairs. The vines are twisted and turned and shaped by hand into baskets and furniture that reflect the McCall’s respect for and enjoyment of nature. Each piece is a unique work of art.

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“Working with a wisteria or kudzu vine is kind of like dancing,” McCall said. “You have to let it tell you what to do – never get ahead of the vine.”

 

For nearly 40 years, the talented craftsman known as the “Vine Man” has been creating baskets, birdhouses, tiny churches, chairs, tables and more from his home a few miles south of Montgomery.

 

He explores nearby fields, forests, and swamps for wild wisteria, grape and kudzu vines, and salvages old wood from demolished buildings – then turns the raw materials into works of naturally beautiful art.