FOLK ART FANATIC

library 2.0

2008-10-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

I like the possibilities offered for social networking in Library 2.0. While I personally may not want to use these on a regular basis, I'm aware as a mom and as a librarian that libraries must evolve in the web 2.0 environment in order to be current and stay user-friendly and relevant for young adults (not as in YA, rather as in people in thier 20's, early 30's) and younger. The one concern I have has to do with issues of privacy, something I didn't see any of the perspectives I read comment on. Progress continues to progress.

Twitter

2008-10-12T15:13:00.000-07:00

Checking out twitter I don't see much for the folk art fanatic. Some artists, none that I know, are using the site. The closest I came to finding someone to follow is Mike Smith who is a great guy and a folk art dealer in NC. Check out his new updated website: www.athomegallery.com .
I have used Twitter at a job I have with a non-profit media producer, I'm learning about the field to be a blogger for their blog. They ask a weekly question on there for others in the field and get a nice response. I think that could be a fun way to build a folk art community on twitter.

Del.icio.us for all you folk art fans

2008-10-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I went on Del.icio.us and found it to be a fun site to find new folk art sites and resources. It uses tagging, just like Flickr, which is a well-known site that most of us have visited to keep up with our favorite artists photostreams. One of the things I have found it most useful for is to keep track of organizations-most of the folk art museums are on there, including the American Visionary Museum and my local favorite, Intuit. This one is worth checking out-you can keep all your sites and can find more by using tags.

2008-10-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

I have been looking at different sites to find a place to create a list of books and media resources related to folk art-all the many facets under the that broad umbrella. This would be part of the toolbook for folk art lovers looking to learn more. Also interested in finding books related to collecting. I checked out Bookspace which is a County library run website and limited in its usage outside of that library system. I'm sticking with continuing to figure out LibraryThing (see previous post) as a resource to share reading suggestions and build a list of folk art resources.

2008-10-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

LibraryThing is one way to explore books and other media related to folk art. I'm going to catalog my books on librarything. Happy to have suggestions and titles to include that I dont know of. Would love to start a folk art book club, reading a related title every other month and have on-line discussions on that. So many possibilities, so little time!

Social Networking for folk art fanatics

2008-10-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Having just searched on the three major social networking sites: My Space, Facebook and Linkedin, I dont see much there in the way of networking for folk art lovers. Facebook has the most options but mainly they are artists or collectors who started a site that fizzled out quickly. I have a Facebook profile for some of my other interests and Linkedin had some active sites about comics-another interest I have is comic art and graphic novels and I'm currently writing a book on Graphic Novels for adults-this will be part of the "Read On..." series published by LU-Libraries Unlimited. I would like to see an active social network for collectors, admirers, dealers, artists, etc. This would be for chatting about the addiction, the market, news about artists, sharing photos of our collections, even a spot for trading art. Would that I had the time. I think I found Linkedin most interesting option for networking professionally. Facebook is just a mish mash-a confusing mix of personal and professional and just to darn busy. My Space had little for me. I like the good old fashioned listserv or mailing lists by email. There is the FASA Folk Art Society of America discussion group, moderated by Randall Lott which serves as a forum for the discussion and exchange of ideas, the announcement of exhibitions and other pertinent events, the posting of photographs of artists' works, links to interesting folk art web sites -- and any other information that relates to folk art, folk artists and folk art environments (or self-taught, visionary, intuitive and outsider art). http://www.folkart.org/discmain.html.
There have been lively discussions about events such as FolkFest and about concerns such as
fakes (particularly the problem of fake Mose T Tolliver) or the new Giclee prints and their effect on original pieces. I would love to see a very active on-line folk art collectors presence. There is a need for those of us who want to continue learning and sharing but cant afford or get to FASA or Slotins or the many other wonderful organizations, museums and conferences that exist. I would like to be a part of "the folk art community" but as a full-time single working mother I can't physically be there. Myriad shows and conferences have come and gone and all I've had to show for them is the time and energy wishing I could be there and attempting to patch together a plan for my kid or selling art to be able to afford to go. I'm sure I'm not the only one. In addition, there are so many international collectors and artists who I have enjoyed contact with and many of them seem eager to share their passions with other like-minded folks. So, as social networking goes for folk art addicts I have yet to see a viable, multi-purposed social networking site. If any of you know of others, please let us know. And I will let you know when I start developing a site in earnest. Thats all for now

James Kalm's tour of N.Y. Outsider Art Fair from YouTube. Cool stuff.

2008-10-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

2008-10-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today I played with all the different flickr related games or mashups. I was looking for bottle cap art. As you can see from my logo, I am a bottle cap lover and collector. I have had some with me for over 20 years-very useful for change, keys, etc. I also display my rock collections or other small collections or a piece of art. A popular hobby in 50's and 60's, particularly in the Midwest, directions were published in hobby mags or as scout projects. this odd fad was popular enough to have had some manufacturers of particular types. They were made as bar ware-to hold nuts and chips and many had ashtrays which prompted bottle cap figure collector extraordinaire to nickname them "Nuts and Butts." His site is wonderful to comprehend the variety of figures made with bottle caps, coat hangers, wood slabs, plastic, aluminum and wood bowls or ashtrays and decorated with simple household items such as thumbtacks, studs, curtain rings, binder paper hole fixers (??is there a name for these round sticky items?). Check out his collection at http://www.philiplamb.com/Bottle.html. I do have a few very old primitive bottle cap men and woman which are older and quite charming in simplicity and large in size. There are also many that are black, sometimes with nose rings and big earrings recalling an African tribal look. Perhaps examples of African American make-do folk art. There are also some that have been said were souvenirs from the Caribbean islands and have a "Carmen Miranda" look, often with fruits in the upper bowl. There were other shapes. I have a dog, his bowl is the snack holder in this case. I have seen other animals as well, in addition to very old examples of bottlecap ashtrays (made around a short tin can), bottlecap baskets and chains. These might be examples of hobo art. Its a funky form of folk craft, nowadays many people put it under the general umbrella of "tramp art" but I think that's stretching the term a bit. The bottlecap figures are just plain fun and functional, kitschy and cute. Read more about bottle cap art in one of my favorite sites: http://www.interestingideas.com/out/cap.htm . Soon to come a post about bottlecap figures raised to an art form, the amazing Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack) and the Woolsey's plus others. I made a lickr photo mosaic of images of Mr. I's art, with his classic bottlecap paintbrush as the background image on flickr Montager. Its called Whiskbroom Pharoah. Enjoy. http://www.deviousgelatin.com/montager/image.php?image=2221046020

Damian Michaels, Heavy Headed

2008-09-27T00:42:00.001-07:00

Damian Michaels, Heavy Headed, originally uploaded by Art-Visionary.

This gorgeous drawing is one of about 10 small pieces I own by this wonderful Australian artist. Check out the colors, the pen work, the movement all the patterning creates. Its one of my favorites by Damian. Not only does he create amazing and moving drawings, he also produces the publication Visionary Art and is active in the outsider/folk art world in Australia. He was born and grew up in the US and has been in Australia for many years with his wife and two sons. I am always delighted with the art I purchase from him. His Flickr account is artvisionary which displays his wonderful, surrealistic art. Amazing. Check this artist out on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/damianmichaels/ and on ebay where he sells his smaller drawings.http://stores.ebay.com/Art-Visionary Love this artist.

2008-09-27T00:13:00.001-07:00

2008-09-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

In addition to being a folk art lover, I'm also a librarian and the library I work for is participating in a program to learn more about the tools available in web 2.0. I'm going to use this blog to discover what's out there (here) on the web about folk art and report on what I'm learning. One thing I'm working on is to view problems as challanges, as a means to learn. I'm hoping to make sense out of the chaos I have created in buying way, way, way too much art by exploring folk art in other ways than by acquiring it! One way to channel the energy is to throw myself into selling the art that hasn't found a place in my home. I have become a seller on ebay with an ebay store Folk Art Junkie 36:

http://stores.ebay.com/Folk-Art-Junkie-36

Selling on ebay has been both difficult (finding time to list, pack and send) and fun-(communicating with dealers and other collecters all over the world). It has also allowed me to learn more about artists or pieces to list them. This blog and a social network for folk art collectors are other ways of dealing with the folk art addiction. In another blog I will compose a "toolbox"of sorts, resourses for the folk art fanatics. I want to use this blog to learn and play with this passion! Folk art is just plain fun-to me it has some of the satisfaction of reading or watching a movie-it gives me a glimpse into another persons vision, their stories.

2008-09-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

I am a folk art junkie! I began about 30 years ago with folk crafts: tramp, inlaid, bottle cap, matchstick and cigar label art. Ethnic/tribal folk art-textiles and masks became my next passion. Then I fell (hard) for Outsider art: self-taught,visionary...& discovered the wacky world of face jugs.-fun,fun and more fun. My house is filled to the brim. Some days its merely feels like an obstacle course, other days its like a hazard zone. My son sweetly comments "We’re rich in art, and in love". Lack of money forces me to weed & sell. Once I have a manageable collection I will catalog it. But for now, most days I need a folk art fix and I can't buy any longer. So, a blog, yes, blabbing replaces buying. Welcome.