Misti of Studio M Designs is having here "Here's Your Sign Link Party" This is a word based art, but not really a sign. I tried to find sayings related to home an family.Julia over at Hooked on Houses is hosting her "Hooked on Friday's" blog party. This is my second try.
I didn't get folk art. I never really thought about it until we bought a home cooked dinner at our elementary school's auction. That was a while ago.
Our hosts were collectors. Over their fireplace was a Howard Finster portrait of Henry Ford. You may know that Mr. Finster regarded Ford, Elvis, and a few others as special gifts from heaven. For me it was uncanny. I almost shiver thinking about it even now.
But this is about angels. Atlanta's High Museum has collection of Georgia folk artists. We visited for Christmas 2006 to see the Louvre collection. We were on the way out, we made a turn and there was a giant Finster angel. Your results my vary but I was moved.
I decided to make one myself. (As man with no qualities, my family thought I was nuts; but they humored me.) Here she is hovering over our porch. (If you know Flickr.com you can make these pictures bigger).
We can see her from the kitchen, the dinning table, some of the living room. She gently dominates the porch. She greets me every morning as I climb the stair up from bed.
I like to think she's protecting our home and family.
She came together from a picture on the web, then in Photoshop, tracing on leftover plywood, the garage with my jigsaw and sander, finally on the range with my son's acrylics.
I found sayings related to home and family. She wasn't done yet.
Of course there is no duplicating Finster. There was something in him that flooded out. But I enjoyed doing it. I hope I've honored him. I get to see her every day.
Click here to return to Hooked on Houses' "Hooked on Fridays" blog party.
But if you aren't tired yet, here is a slide show of public folk art in Atlanta, created for the 1996 Olympics. Architecture tourists know that it's on a forlorn expressway bridge only seen from cars at 45 MPH. I went on foot last Sunday to take these pictures. It's worth a blog post some day. You can make the show full screen by clicking on the lower right corner. You should.
Thanks so much for visiting.
Terry