Folk Art Mary

Woman, Yes, Pushed by the Wind

I had fun making this piece. The woman is off balance, surprised,

thrown by a quick gust of wind. But the word "YES" says she can do it.

 

Carving Stage: a close up of her face, this is new for me,

to make such expressions of surprise

 

Carving Stage: this view is from a little further out, You can see how I intentionally tore the

background wood by carving cross grain with a tool angle that increased shredding.

I like to do this textural type of effect because it makes things more interesting, plus

after the carving is painted you can see I'm working with wood.

 

Painting Stage: Early in the painting

 

Later Painting stage: half way through the painting, doing lots of

layers to get the look that tells me the work is done.

Crows Show off, In a Circle

The sketch for Crows Show Off, in a Circle shows much promise. I am particularly fond of symmetry. I also like to juxtapose circles and squares

 

Below Crows Show Off, carved. I added two extra crows in at the bottom.

 

The promise of the sketch is realized. Crows Show Off, in a Circle could not please me more!

folk art self taught Mary

At One with Nature #4

At One with Nature, Number 4

Scroll down to see this piece in early middle and finished painting stages!

I'll be at the Ithaca Farmers' Market on Saturday April 25, 2015. Come see this piece in person!

 

 

folk art mary

Adam and Eve, Adam Tormented, Number 13

Winter is my indoor season. Picture me surrounded in my chaotic studio with pieces carved over the summer and waiting to be painted for the 2015 summer market.

I just finished painting Adam and Eve #13 (below, $495.00. 12" x 11.5" x 3"), but it was carved in July. In this version I originally had the snake, Eve and Adam stand out equally. Then I repainted the piece a number of times until Adam stood out just a little bit more than the other figures. He's leaning back, thinking, considering, surrounded, a little bit tormented.

Below find some earlier pieces in my Adam and Eve series. Each one is different, but I suppose they are all humorous comments on the interpersonal dynamics of Adam, Eve and the snake. More generally what unites them is that they are all studies of decision making.  I would be very interested in getting your comments on which one is your favorite and what in particular led you to like it the best.

Adam and Eve 12

 

Adam and Eve 11

 

Adam and Eve 10

 

Adam and Eve 9

folk art self taught Mary

Recently Completed Carvings

Below find four recently completed carvings that I will have at my Ithaca Farmer's Market booth on Saturday August 2.

 

Sheep Icon #21

Wood Spirits #7

 

Wind Blows my Hat Off #3

Rooster Icon #16

folk art self taught Mary

Waitresses Say Eat, Colors are Starting to Work

The various colors in Waitresses Say Eat #8 are starting to work together and not fight each other. I love the waitresses' thick legs, tired from all the hours of standing on shift. In some ways I feel I have no control over how the facial expressions turn out. The central waitress is kind of goofy, the two on either side seem rather tired and even a little bit sour. Hey customer, you'd better give them a little bigger tip!

folk art mary

Glenora Family Cottage, Starting to Carve

I start to carve the Glenora Family Cottage Commission, beginning with the wind swirls. This will be the hardest part of the piece for me, making these swirls work. So I want to get a sense right away of how the wind swirl shapes will fit into the rest of the piece.  In general I take on the boldest parts of the carving first, leaving the smaller details until last. There's a real reason for this. The small details are always vulnerable to being cut off by mistake as one carves the wood nearby. So it's best to do the big carved shapes first and the smaller ones last.

folk art mary

 

 

Canoing in the Adirondacks - Gold Leaf Doesn't Help

I thought maybe putting on the gold leaf would make the Canoeing in the Adirondacks art work sing for me. But I'm still bothered by the empty space at the bottom, and now I'm even beginning to be bothered by the empty space to the left of the canoe.

 Usually a piece comes together at the end for me, but not so this time. What am I going to do? I've got to think about this for a few days.

folk art mary

 

Canoeing in the Adirondacks with Islands - Discouraged

I've painted more but this just isn't working. I'm still bothered by the bottom of the piece -  too much empty space there, it distracts me from looking at the canoe which is where I want to look first.

folk art mary

Canoeing in the Adirondacks with Islands - Dark Outlines

In this next version, as I look at it, something is starting to not work for me. I've made a number of small color changes including dark outlines around all the major shapes, but I'm starting to get bothered by the large expanse of water that lies between the boat and the bottom of the inner frame. My plan is to keep working with paint to make this piece sing.

folk art mary

Canoeing in the Adirondacks with Islands - Rusts and Yellows

Adding the rusts and yellow plus some dark grays really helps the Canoeing in the Adirondacks with Islands piece to take on life. This is starting to become a night time scene. When I first started to paint it I wasn't sure if it would be a day or night time scene.