I recently went to the Fearrington Folk Art Show at Fearrington Village Center in Pittsboro, NC. Attending brought me so much joy. What was neat is that I found out about it early one morning from my niece who has recently moved to Raleigh, NC and a couple of hours later her mom (my sister, Rebecca) and I were on the road to check it out. It was a yucky, wet, rainy day but they had great parking and the event was held in this beautiful barn. The greatest thing of all was that most of the artist’ were there and you could talk to them. I love hearing the back stories about their work, lives and inspirations. Everyone was approachable and without hesitation allowed me to take pictures, which I am very appreciative of.
I'll just work my way around the event in the order I walked around. The first thing that caught my eye was the fanciful wooden animals. I was drawn to the tutu wearing horse knowing that my granddaughter would like it and my sister liked the gator. While talking to the overall clad creator of these works I learned that he had a lot more of them at home in his yard. This led me to inquire about the price and I was referred to the sign on the wall that said “not for sale”. I understood, it’s just hard to let go of any of your critters.
These boxes got me thinking about what I could do with all that broken jewelry that for some reason I will not part with.
Sarah Rakes work really represents what comes to my mind when I thought of folk art. Today has broadened my thoughts about it, which is a good thing because I love learning. I do not know what it is, but I like roosters.
The next art is by Miz Thang. We fell in love with her representations of musicians. My sister is a huge Blues fan which came in handy, because she could initiate thoughtful conversation with the artist as we mingled around. Aren’t sisters great? We learned that she painted the musicians blue for several reasons. One was that she liked the color blue and another was to remove race from the work.
My sister, Rebecca , with Miz Thang.
Mama-Girl. I really liked these papier mache MAMAs with babies on their laps. There is just nothing more dear than the time mamas spend cuddling their little babies. These were in two chair sizes. She did not have a web site listed on her business card so I’m linking a blog I found that referenced her work.
Tim and Lisa Kluttz. Great things! Look her jeans are even painted. My niece loved the Einstein she had painted. In addition the pictures she had cool painted shutters. We spotted this darling suitcase and found out that it was just something she used to bring things to the show but I think she should sell it. I wish I had taken some more pictures of her booth. Oh yea, I remember I got distracted when someone spotted my Nikon 1 camera. It is one of Nikon’s newest cameras and it is smaller than a SLR. My dear husband splurged on me at Christmas and got me this amazing camera. He may be wishing he could take it back because people spot it and come up to me all the time and ask me about it. It makes me feel like a celebrity.
Jackie’s Folk Art. Bicycles just have a sense of nostalgia which makes them very appealing. Bicycles in a shade of my favorite color are even better.
Athlone Clarke. No contest, this was the coolest artist there. His mixed media art was amazing. Some of his pieces were designed where you could take the record out and play it. This suitcase full of memorabilia was so intriguing. From talking to him we found out that all of his work is one of a kind, he displays his work on his facebook page and it quickly sells, and he and my sister share an interest in treasure from shipwrecks.
Danny Doughty. This is the work that really moved me. The colors were just beautiful and you could not help but be drawn in. I kept returning to his section to just soak it all in. I listened in as he was explaining his back story to another gentleman and then had an opportunity to talk to him myself. Go to his website and read it for yourself and see why he honors these women in his paintings. His story will just make you love the paintings even more.
John Sperry - Primitive Folks. The reds in his paintings were so vibrant. The house behind him was my favorite. Here he is signing the piece my sister bought.
Relaxing atmosphere.
We did not realize that there was a show outside the barn. These are vans and trailers of the artist.
All in all we had a great day. I spent some fun time with my sister and got to enjoy some amazing art. So look for this event to come around next February and don’t miss it.