Nancy Malay creates a variety of vintage-inspired items in her cozy home studio in Faribault, MN. An artist specializing in nostalgic and whimsical figurines, she meticulously handcrafts each item, using paper mache, paper clay and cloth. Embellishments of mica, antique trimmings, German glass glitter and tinsel give each figure its own personality and embues each with an authentic, old-world style. Besides selling her art independently, she is also a licensed designer for Midwest-CBK. She and her husband, Rick have been married for 33 years and have 3 sons (and now, 3 beautiful daughter-in-laws!) They also just became Grandparents for the first time in June!
You can find Nancy's work..such as the ones above, and below, and more about Nancy at the following:
How
long have you been creating folk art? What inspired you to start creating folk art?
Growing up in a small, rural
town with my seven siblings, creating was just a way of life for me as a child! Whether we
were mixing paper mache in the bathtub or cutting out Valentines, we made decorations
for every Holiday and sewed most of our own clothing.
As my work evolved over the years, I think I’ve really developed my own style of Folk Art. I love the vintage or time-worn look, with lots of sparkle and texture. It’s fun for me to go through my stash of antique trims, buttons and accessories and put together objects so that I can use a certain theme, or I’ll focus on specific colors, like pink or red. I work on every Holiday year around, so witches and snowmen co-exist on my workbench along with rabbits and Santas.
What sort of themes and subjects do you like or specialize in?
As my work evolved over the years, I think I’ve really developed my own style of Folk Art. I love the vintage or time-worn look, with lots of sparkle and texture. It’s fun for me to go through my stash of antique trims, buttons and accessories and put together objects so that I can use a certain theme, or I’ll focus on specific colors, like pink or red. I work on every Holiday year around, so witches and snowmen co-exist on my workbench along with rabbits and Santas.
What sort of themes and subjects do you like or specialize in?
One of my favorite
things to create are Santas, even though they are the most time consuming. I love that they have so much detail and giving
each one their facial expressions make them come to life. I find that adding the mohair
beard and hair, (strand by strand) is really challenging, but relaxing to do.
Do you have a favorite piece?
Do you have a favorite piece?
I like to keep things
interesting and fresh, so each Season I try to branch out and try something new
that I’ve never done before. It might be using a new product that I’ve heard about,
or I’ll experiment with different objects and make things like the little paper
trees I’m working on right now. It’s
hard to part with some items, so they’ll hang around my studio a bit longer than
others! I recently made a snowman with a little girl on his shoulders, which
represents my husband holding our little Granddaughter. I’d have to say this is
one of my favorite things I’ve ever created, only because it has special
meaning for me.
Tell us more....
Tell us more....
I
usually start my day very early in my home studio, with a cup of coffee
in hand and my dog, Zoey, perched beside me on her chair....life is
good!
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