Bertha Cook

Bertha Hodges Cook (March 29, 1895 – March 9, 1990) was an American handicraft artist who was known primarily for her needlework using Colonial knotting and fringing techniques to make bedspreads.

Cook was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.

Early life Bertha Hodges was born in the Blue Ridge Mountain community of Sands, North Carolina, near Boone. Her mother was Carrie Hodges, a well-regarded bedspread artist who had learned the skill from her English and Irish female ancestors. Both women used as patterns bedspreads over 100 years old that had been passed down and carefully preserved from one generation to the next. As a child, Cook accompanied her mother to Southern Highland Craft Guild fairs, where she learned about Colonial knotting and fringing techniques to make bedspreads and pillows. Her mother and grandmother served as mentors when Cook began to work on her own.

Cook's work was recognized in the Appalachian region for her "exceptional skill and artistry". Her work was also included in the same organization's 2020 special exhibit titled "The Power of Distinction".

Photographs of her work are also included in the "Knotted Bedspread Collection" 1970–1974, created by scholar Thomas A. McGowan and housed by the Special Collections Research Center at Appalachian State University.

Cook's children became skilled artists as well, and carried on the tradition into their adulthoods.

Awards and honors 1952: Southern Highland Handicraft Guild, Excellence of Design Award 1973: Southern Highland Handicraft Guild's Lifetime membership award