Bantam Chicken Destruction Team ala Dr. Seuss
Thing one and Thing two, along with Things A,B, C, D, E, F, G, & H destroyed my flower bed today! At least that’s what it seemed like. The Polish Bantams especially seem just like characters out of a Dr. Seuss Book, they are so comical! It would have even been funny, if it wasn’t for the fact that they ate every, and I mean every, marigold! In less than 10 minutes!
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My Favorite Artists At The Slotin Folk Fest Part 2
3 days later, and I’m still thinking about all of the interesting people I met at Slotin! Here’s my final post on some of the wonderful artists I met. I can’t wait to go back again next year!
One of the most memorable artists I met was Ab Ivens, Ab the Flagman! I only got to say a quick hi to him, as everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to talk to Ab! Luckily, Melanie(sp) was there to answer questions and give us info about the opening of the Ab Gallery in Marietta. The Cityscape he created literally drags you in to the picture, like magic. The large sunshine carving appears to be alive. He’s been featured nationally, and if you’ve been to the House of Blues you’ve probably already seen his work, but if you get a chance, go see his work, you won’t forget it!
Speaking of the Ab Gallery, I bought a painting from one of the artists featured at the gallery, Kimberly Dawn Clayton. You can see her work from the Ab Gallery here. The painting I bought is of a cute little dachshund that is a twin of my little dog Dolly.
William Skrips is an artist my husband really liked at the fest. Don’t get me wrong, I found his work fascinating, too, it’s just that he makes his pieces from found “stuff”, and hubby is the biggest pack rat in history. Check out his gallery pages and you’ll never look at junk the same way!
The painting “Cotton and Watermelon“, by mixed media artist and photographer Ron Phillips, stopped me in my tracks! So simple, yet so complex! It is well worth a visit to his website to see Mr. Phillips creations.
There were many other great artists that I met Saturday, too many to mention actually in a blog, but I encourage anyone that loves folk art, outsider art or visionary art to make plans to attend next Summer. You’ll be glad you did!
My Favorite Artists at the Slotin Folk Fest Part 1
It took some time to locate one of my favorite artists, Wendy Detrick Worsham, among the booths, but I finally tracked her down and jokingly told her that her “art groupie” had found her. I bought my annual birthday print, “Day of No Shadows” , and I just love it. I also got a chance to talk a minute with Wendy, which is what I really like about these types of shows.
I can honestly say that Wendy is a major influence on my becoming a full-time artist. Look at her paintings and you can easily see how much she enjoys her work. If you go to her online gallery you can see such paintings as “Flying Fairy Sheep” , “Bovine in Ivy” , and “Tulip” . She is a very talented artist, but she still takes the time out to talk to each person who comes up to her, and I, for one, look forward to meeting her again next year and getting yet another birthday print!
Meeting Madison P. Latimer was indeed a thrill. I was actually hesitant about approaching her, as she is pretty well known, but I shouldn’t have been! She shared so much about how her paintings came to be, the influences and events in her life that led up to her career, and gave such great advice to both my husband and myself about just creating our art.
I have seen a lot of her work online, and I really like her style, and of course, a lot of her subjects, namely the chickens and guineas from her “Chick Picks” series, appeal to me. Madison’s subjects go well beyond the barnyard(although you’ve never seen barnyard animals like hers!), so check out her series “My Backyard” , “Love, Light, and Laughter” . She’s a very friendly individual, and I felt in minutes like I had known her my whole life. To get a feel of what meeting Madison in person is like, look at her series “Girlfriends” .
Back From Slotin Folk Fest - It was Awesome!
We’re back from the folk fest, and I have to say this was the best yet! Rows upon rows of art, some wacky, some serious, all of it wonderful. The best part is meeting so many of the artists. While there are a lot of galleries that come to Slotin, many of the artists have booths, too, and most all of them like to talk! It was a great day, and I got a lot of wonderful advice on getting started from people who have already already made it.
For those who don’t know, Slotin is most likely the largest Self-Taught Art Show in the South, if not th U.S. They boast 100 Galleries and Dealers from all over the U.S. , over 80,000 square feet, and between 10,000-12,000 attendees. It is really big, and you can meet so many of the well-known Self-taught galleries and artists. I actually got to meet Ginger Young from the Ginger Young Gallery, and she wished me luck on my endeavors. It was Amazing!
This week, besides getting myself seriously going again, I’m going to post about my favorite artist picks from Slotin Folk Fest 2008.
Thinking of Gouache and Egg Tempera …
It’s 10:00 in the morning and we still haven’t left for Atlanta yet. Hubby had to go get more chicken feed, as chickens come first around here.
While I’m setting around I’ve been thinking of the directions I’d like to go next in my work. First, I really like working in gouache, I love the way the colors stand out, but what is the best fixative? I came across a site where PYM II was used on a mini painting, so I’ll probably check it out.
A few years back I painted “Dolly Warhol”, a picture of my dachshund, Dolly, in gouache, and after much experimentation I finally was able to seal it in acrylic without too much running of color. I loved the look and feel of the painting!
The other thing I want to experiment with is egg tempera. I mean, come on, I collect 10 dozen eggs a week! The only problem with this type of painting is that it seems really complicated. But life is about learning, so I might try learning about these techniques!
Well, hubby is back, so off to the North Atlanta Trade Center and Slotin Folk Fest!
Geese play mean, chickens don’t listen, and I can’t paint!
I know I am focusing this blog more on my artwork, but to exclude the “inspirations” from here really leaves a lot out!
For instance - I can’t paint today because my 2 lovely geese, Lucy and Zander, are wreaking havoc around the place, chasing the neighbor, who happens to be my father(not good), chasing and biting the turkeys, chasing and biting the banties, even trying to bite my husband. So far they act like perfect angels for me, due to their imprinting on my as Mama, I suppose, but I have to keep going outside to entertain them.
Then, the banties are also acting up. I’ve let them free range, but that has to end, so we’re building a chicken tractor, a pretty big one, actually, that we can move all over the property. They will not understand, I know, but they keep leaving our yard, and going to my father’s garden(at least they are staying out of mine - lol). Did I mention that Dad is not an animal lover? It’s funny to see them running home when I go out the door and call them, though! They run as fast as they can in a straight little line. There is another reason to build their tractor, a large hawk was perched in the pine trees today, and luckily we saw him in time to chase him off. If I leave the birds out I know he’ll have breakfast, lunch and dinner on us!
So, no painting today, and no carving for hubby on his only off day! I have one ACEO to get ready to ship(Baptizin’), and then I have to get back outside.
Only 1 More Week Until Slotin Folkfest!
There’s only 1 week to go until the Slotin Folkfest, and I can’t wait. Summer time is murder for people with multiple sclerosis, and I don’t venture out much at all, until the weekend of the folkfest. It usually falls around my birthday, and this year it actually begins on it - August 15 through the 17th.
I’m ready for my trip to the big city, to get to see all of the strange, wacky, breathtaking, etc, art they have to offer, and to hopefully get another print from a favorite artist of mine - Wendy Detrick Worsham
If you’re near Atlanta next weekend be sure to go to Slotin Folkfest at the North Atlanta Trade Center! It’s where my love of folk art started!
Busy Day Painting - Southern Folk art “Temptation”
For some reason “lead us not into temptation” stuck in my mind today - I think because my son’s birthday is tomorrow and we’re having pizza and chocolate cake - hehe, Anyway, I came up with a new painting today entitled “Temptation”
Some New Folk Art Paintings and ACEO’s
I’ve added a couple more folk art paintings to my yessy.com store.
The first one is called “MamaHen Feeding the Chickens” , and it is a 6″x6″ clay tile framed on a plastic coated wire rack:![Southern Folk Art Painting by artist C.E. Harrison](http://mamahenfolkart.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/mamahenwebshot-225x300.jpg "\")
The second tile painting is called “Chicken Scratch Rooster”, and is unframed.
I also painted 3 folk art ACEO’s, the artist trading cards that are sized 2.5″ X 3.5″. These are all painted in acrylic on poplar wood.
“Pickin’ Cotton” for sale now at MamaHen Folk Art on Yessy
I opened a new Yessy art gallery today
http://www.yessy.com/mamahenfolkart
and have put my painting “Pickin’ Cotton” on there. Check it out!
![\](http://mamahenfolkart.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/pickincottonwebshot-300x300.jpg "\")
La-Ti-Da - The Cymbal is finished!!!!
I finished painting my sunflower cymbal today and have named it “La-Ti-Da”.
Why, you may ask?
Simply because I was listening to the song “La-Ti-Da” by the Icicles. According to Rhapsody they are an alternative punk group, a far cry from my normal country and bluegrass gospel, but the song is so upbeat, it just makes me smile!
So here’s the finished painting, now listed on Ebay …..
