Toolbox

An Unlikely Survivor

I recently found this slate tablet, which was used by a school child about 100 years ago. The slate surface is slightly recessed from the wooden frame, which enabled the survival of the lightly-drawn plump fellow in his top hat and double-breasted coat. I know that it's safe to handle, because it's clearly labeled "Germ-Proof." The owner's name is written in pencil along one border, maybe Milly or Miller.

Sing Robin Sing

To honor our burgeoning spring and an unknown artist, one of my all-time favorite folk art textiles. This pillowcase is hand-embroidered with a scene of two brown women and a baby, relaxing by a stream bordered with cattails and flowers. Over their heads, two giant blue jays engage as they bend the branches of red-flowering trees. The maker stitched in a lovely poem:

A kind heart are the gardens
A kind thoughts are the roots

A kind words are the blossoms
And a kind deeds are the fruits

Sing Robin Sing

Joyful Noise, Again

I've had a number of homemade folk musical instruments pass through my hands - banjos, guitars, diddly bows, dulcimers, fiddles and more. Makers have incorporated gourds, license plates, sheet metal and old signs, gas cans and other surprising or incongruous materials. But this is all pine wood, and may be the crudest of them all. See how the F-holes were chopped out with a jackknife? The neck, 3 surviving tuning pegs and the body all seem to have been fashioned with the most basic tools. There's a black material like pitch on the front and back of the body. The leather strap and the single string were added long after it was made and used, if my close examination is correct. I'm convinced it was made to be played, and that the maker had made others like it before, because of some details like the grooved top nut and the way the peg ends were split to make a tight fit. Of course the bow is long gone. I can't imagine the sounds it made, but surely it was distinctive.

This one was found in rural north Georgia, not far from Appalachia to the north and not far from the cotton fields of the piedmont to the south. But you never know where, or whether, an object like this has traveled.

Imagine my surprise when I came across the 19th century photograph shown at the bottom.

Snow Balls

Years ago while driving on a scouting adventure through rural Alabama, this remarkable structure appeared. It was built right on the shoulder of the little two-lane road. I stopped to look more closely, and found that it was abandoned. While taking some photos, I saw a lady sitting on the porch of her home a few hundred yards away. So I strolled over to ask about the stand. She told me that it was the remains of an entrepreneurial effort by a local teenager, with the idea of selling flavored-ice treats. He built it from salvaged lumber and recycled sheets of corrugated tin and painted it himself. All was going well until an inattentive driver swerved to avoid hitting a stopped school bus, crashing into and crushing one side of his business, thus putting an end to his enterprise.

Well, I have a weakness for hand-painted advertisements and folk Americana in general, so I wanted to see at least the paintings preserved. The lady put me in touch with the young man, and I was able to negotiate a purchase. I returned a few weeks later and dismantled the facade and panels on each side, which I still own. Maybe I'll go into business myself someday.

I love the blue clouds and the floating images of his product. That elaborate painted feature on the front left is called a Love Knot. It has appeared on several decorated folk art objects that I've seen over the years.

The Art and Science of Shoes

Here we have what appears to be a high school science project. It's signed G. C. Carr, and looks like it dates to between 1920 and 1930. He has cut from wood two profiles of a shoe, which serve as front and back covers for a book. G. C. hand-painted on the front cover a stylish two-tone man's shoe. Bound into it are many illustrated pages with facts about the trade and craft of shoe making and repair. He wraps it all up with a pious thought for the day. I'd give him an A and a reward of merit.

Christmas Decoration Yard Show

Since we moved to the neighborhood five years ago, one house just up the street always has a compelling yard display at Christmastime. I always promise myself to get pictures, and finally this year I walked over with camera in hand. It just so happened that Mr. Williams was working on his display when I arrived, and graciously gave his permission to take some pictures. He utilizes nearly all the plants in his yard, whether evergreen or bare, to hang and support the decorative elements. As far as I'm concerned, Christmas yard decorations are an American folk art, and I appreciate the generosity of people who install them for the delight of others. So Merry Christmas from Mr. and Mrs. Williams, who have been doing this at their home for 45 years.

He's Very Bendy

Carved folk art pipe, about 4 inches high.

He's wearing a hunter's hat with a sporty feather and holds a flask and cup in his hands. The hat opens to reveal the bowl and control the burn. His feet are missing, and so is the stem.

Considering where the stem emerged, this probably both stimulated and stopped some conversations, depending on one's appreciation for the visuals.

Fish Lure Effigy

Folk Art Fish Lure
Purchased from a Black man at a catfish pond.
Central Georgia
c. 1985

This one was among 30 or so homemade lures in his tackle box. The maker utilized carved wood, feathers, the shaft of Bic pens, paint, beads - most anything at hand. Did they catch fish? I don't know, but it caught me.