Folk Art Fridays: JACKIE EBERLY

Welcome again to Folk Wisdom's Folk Art Friday!  Each week we feature an artist whose style reflects the Folk Art ethos and tradition.


THIS week, we are featuring JACKIE EBERLY, a talented artist who creates dolls in the old styles, using vintage materials and sometimes techniques...to capture the look of a doll from another time. Using lace, old buttons, old felt, metal, period correct jewelry, hairstyles, dress styles and more..her dolls evoke a bygone feel....


From Izannah Walker dolls, to Queen Anne dolls, Jackie puts many hours and details into her vision...


 1.Give us a bit of background on you and your art. What type of art do you do?
I make paper clay over cloth dolls,  I love the Victorian era cloth dolls, I especially like the Izannah Walker dolls. I started making dolls in 2000, and felt really compelled to create my vision of an old doll.  To be honest I really couldn’t say how many dolls I have actually made, as it truly is a labor of love. I enjoy making them, even though it gets to be tedious at times. The outcome is overwhelming, when to see a pic of a doll or to hold a doll I have made in the past, it strikes me with joy and happiness to know that I actually created something that someone else cherishes and loves!

2. What inspires you?
What inspires me now--and I say now because it’s an ever changing subject-- are old photographs, antique fabric and lace, "make-do’s" from days gone by, and the best inspiration of all is camaraderie with other doll makers.


 3. What, if any, art pieces/dolls of yours are your favorites?

I think my fave is the one my mom still has to this day, its the one i call "soldier girl' in blue with the brass buttons on the bodice. My daughter helped in the dollmaking process!

You can find more of Jackie's work at:  http://plain-n-simpleblog.blogspot.com/

FOLK ART FRIDAYS: Audrey Eclectic

Inspired by a bygone era, Audrey Eclectic is a unique folk art collection created by artist Heather Sleightholm that features original paintings, prints, post cards, handmade wearables, art dolls, and more.  Audrey Eclectic art is at once a little sweet and a little dark, a little mysterious, always hopeful, and with a story to tell.


1. When did you start creating art? Give us a bit of background on yourself and the sort of art you create.

    I'm  not sure when I first started creating art, because it seems like it has always been a part of me! I've drawn and written stories since I could hold a pen or pencil, and something I don't ever remember not being driven to do-- it just calms my mind and makes me happy. I was always the shy girl who loved to draw in school, and it set me apart. Being creative and artistic became part of who I was, and it was really important to me from the time I was a child to present day.

    I've dabbled in may different kinds of art-- from drawing to painting to sculpture-- but didn't start making my own type of folk art until 2007, after I had my daughter, Audrey (I named my business Audrey Eclectic after her). When she was a few months old, I was able to stay home with her full-time, and when she was napping I couldn't resist the urge to ignore all those chores I needed to do and just paint. As she got older I got more involved with Etsy and my local arts and craft community and started doing more and more gallery events and craft shows.

    Now painting is my passion. I wake up each day excited and eager to paint. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to do it, and that others enjoy what I make.

2. What inspires you?

   For me, art and stories go hand-in-hand, so I am really drawn to the story telling aspect of painting. So big inspirations for me are folk tales, fairytales, and classic novels. I also have a deep infatuation with history, so different historical events and historical dress are very inspiring to me. I collect old photos and love old timey twangy music. All of these things seem to swirl in my brain and I come up with ideas of things to paint. I also strongly identify with themes of motherhood and faith, but also love things that are a little spooky. The seasons the the more old fashioned aspects of celebrating them are also very influential on my art.

3. If you have a favorite work, tell us about it, and why.

   That is a difficult question! I try not to have favorites because I know when I create a piece that it will most likely be sold, so I try not to get too attached!

                                         

   Probably my first really successful painting was a painting called Celestine-- its very dark and spooky and shows a girl holding a strange Queen Anne style doll with a crow on her shoulder. i did keep that one! I also like my painting Maple and Bittersweet because it evokes a sort of old fashioned autumn mood.


I am also really interested in Swedish folk art and Swedish Christmas traditions, and have met and had lots of great conversations with others with a love for Sweden or Scandinavian backgrounds because of my St. Lucia painting.


4. Where can people find more on you and your art?

My main website is www.audreyeclectic.com

My blog is www.audreyeclectic.blogspot.com

My etsy shop is http://www.etsy.com/shop/audreyeclectic

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Audrey-Eclectic

Twitter:https://twitter.com/AudreyEclectic

Folk Art Friday ~ Mary Azarian

Welcome to Folk Art Friday!

Today's featured folk artist is Mary Azarian, creating an all-encompassing folk art life by depicting folk art scenes via the old-ways method of WOOD BLOCK print.

Heritage and nostalgic scenes are alive and well in Mary's works: life on the farm, nature, bedtime stories and old medieval peasant life, are encompassed in old-time patterns and wrapped in a bit of lore...all within the specific technique of wood block printing.

As noted by Mary:

"I grew up on my grandfather’s small farm just outside Washington, DC. Grandpa had a few thousand chickens and a flock of geese that menaced the customers who came to buy his eggs. My uncle grew vegetables and had a farmstand. My interest in gardening developed at an early age and continues to this day.
I began drawing and painting at an early age and fell in love with woodcuts when I did my first relief print in the fourth grade. It was a 3”X4” lino block of an angel with “NOEL” at the bottom. It was a valuable lesson in the need to reverse words when doing a woodcut. The finished print read “LEON”.
Undeterred, I continued to do lino cuts until I got to Smith College where I studied printmaking with the one of the great 20th century printmakers, Leonard Baskin. I began to work on wood and have never lost my enthusiasm for the medium.

After graduating from college I moved to small hill farm in northern Vermont. My husband, Tom, and I farmed with horses and oxen, kept chickens, a Jersey milk cow and sheep.......We raised three sons who helped with our large gardens and maple syrup operation. It was a wonderful life and a great way to bring up children. These years on the farm became the inspiration for many of my prints.

....I (eventually) decided to see if it would be possible to earn a living selling woodcut prints. I began producing prints in black and white, printing each block by hand. Eventually I began adding color by hand-painting each black and white print, a non-traditional approach, to say the least. Finally, I found an old Vandercook proof press, the Rolls Royce of proof presses, and began using it to produce the prints.
In the 1970’s I begun to illustrate children’s books and have produced over 50 books, including Snowflake Bentley, which won the 1999 Caldecott Award for the best illustrated picture book of the year."

To see more of Mary's exquisite works, or to order, please see:  www.maryazarian.com

FOLK ART FRIDAYS: Nancy Lee Malay

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:

www.nancymalay.com

www.nancymalay.blogspot.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NancyMalay

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?

  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?

 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....

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!

Folk Wisdom: Photo Shoots and Folk Art Fridays!

                                                             Outtake! Photo by Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor

People, it has been mayhem around here. Mayhem, I tell you!

We've been busy--hard at work, but having fun--crafting a magazine that we think you'll want to read.

Folk Wisdom is one part old ways living, one part tutorial, one part discovering old objects and people who use them, one part history, and one part magic.

What we intend is that you learn as much as possible how to create useful, healthful, wonderful things in your own life, and how beautiful and simple these things are.

More than a stuffy magazine, or just one with beautiful pictures, Folk Wisdom is DIY Old-Ways living, a fresh take one older skills.

With that in mind, there are TONS of photos going on. Right now, we're working several issues at once!

A few weeks ago, I was humbled to follow Master Herbalist Sarah Preston, from Pennsylvania, as we gathered goldenrod and nettle, to dye with--yes! These plants can, and have, been used to dye clothing for centuries.

Here's our favorite photo from that session--with plenty more to come--so stay tuned as our upcoming Fall issue will feature pics and info on how to make your own plant dyes.

Meanwhile--you may have heard last weekend I was in heaven, photoshooting with horses, in amazing pasture-land, and with an even more amazing photographer!

Jennifer MacNeil-Traylor has had the distinction of being an accomplished folk artist, with an emphasis on horse and animal painting, as showcased at her Gypsy Mare Studios. She is also a featured artist with The Trail Of Painted Ponies.

Long before I knew Jen in person, I was enamored of her paintings of folk life, farm life, and more. By the time I had met her, she had taken up the camera--and created her own dazzling effects with them.  Because of her experience with horses, it only made sense to have her on our cover shoot.

I couldn't be more right! Besides taking stellar photos, she helped wrangle our senior Percheron, Bob, in a pinch!  I am indebted to her professional work and creativity!

Below are sneak peeks of our cover shoot--as well as the outtake, above!  Do yourself a favor and get to Jen's blog site, where you'll find her Flickr photos, or hire her for whatever photos you have! I believe her ETSY Store also has some amazing prints and art by this master artist (don't tell her I called her "master artist," though--she may just blush!)

And stay tuned for NEXT Friday, as we continue to profile artists of ALL Sorts for our Folk Art Fridays!

The Latest Folk Wisdom News!

                         Here's what we've hatched up!
Alrighty, Folks!

Here's what's afoot!

For those of you who have kindly asked about our PRINT magazine, here is the distribution schedule!

SPRING 2013 - delivery date: 1st week of Feb 2013
SUMMER 2013 - delivery date: Mid May 2013
FALL 2013 -delivery date:  Late August 2013
WINTER 2013 - delivery date: Early October 2013

We will have our purchase button up early next week, for those asking for Early Bird Specials!
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In other News:

NEW FEATURE: FOLK ART FRIDAYS--

                                                                                     Zan Asha's Folk Art

 Are you a professional folk artist? Do you create old-style works or depict old themes? We'd love to feature you!

Just send us an inquiry at folkwisdommagazine(at)gmail.com

From there, we will ask you for a bio and a few jpg pictures of your work, which will we will feature each Friday!

Would you like to recommend an artist! Feel free to email us, as well!

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CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR WRITERS FOR OUR MAGAZINE!

Please be an expert in the following:

Old Style Stone Masonry
Kiln Pottery
Lace Making
Tatting

Feel free to look at our WRITER's GUIDELINES and drop us an email if you are interested in contributing!

REMEMBER, all emails can be sent to folkwisdommagazine(at)gmail.com

Thanks!
Zan Asha