Kantuck Folk Art Festival 2018, Tuscoolsa, Alabama

For 47 years, outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama tucked into a wooded area, there has been a folk art festival. It is called the Kantuck Folk Art Festival and because of a great friend (and some new friends) I was able to attend last year. The place was amazing. It was loaded with artists from all over the country (and world)There was a very diverse selection of artwork, jewelry, cooking utensils, and anything handmade imaginable . (I bought several Christmas presents when I was there.) They had artists doing ceramics, painting, one guy made jewelry out of postage stamps and old picture slides (This one was my favorite). Several of the artists are actually in the Smithsonian for their visionary artwork.

Wandering around the festival was amazing, there were all sorts of activities for adults and kids. Interacting with the artists was wonderful, because it allowed me to hear their stories, the amazing things which inspired their artwork. Just as an example one woman made rubber stamps out of her children's shoes. She was an ArtPrize entry here in Grand Rapids, so I was obviously drawn to her and wanted to learn more. The rubber stamps were from her boys' shoes and they were all different colors. It looked like gum to me, but that was also a part of it, like gum on the bottom of your shoe and the memories of her kids being little. It was very touching.

My greatest regret is that I didn't take more pictures and I didn't write this blog sooner, my memories of the place are a little dim as I am writing this, but it was a lovely adventure. I got to help an artist with her booth, my new friend Jill. She makes beautiful pottery and teaches others her craft. Many of her pieces felt like they were inspired by European influences. 

The Artists are very friendly, for the most part, they love to talk about their work and their inspirations. I was able to meet a woman a named Mary Proctor. Some of her work is in the Smithsonian. I bought a piece of art from her and talked to her about it. She had some very interesting artwork and I really loved the picture I bought. I love sending mail and I think it's important to send out messages to people you love (and sometimes to people you don't) because communication is basically what shapes us as people. I think I went a little in depth there, but hey, she is a visionary artist (and a really friendly, pleasant human being).

When walking around the festival you can hear the sounds of different musicians playing on a stage, music is also an art form. They had the stage next to all the food booths, which featured a variety of foods (many of them Southern foods and many of them fried). I had a chicken basket and it was delicious.

It was a large place as well. The festival is divided up by letters so you can find the artists.  They don't seem to be dived up into any kind of category or genre, but it was a really big place so it is probably difficult to sort them.

If you are ever in Alabama in the fall, this is a festival worth checking out.

Here is the Link: https://www.kentuck.org/the-festival

Glass Making in Pontiac, Michigan

My husband does incredible things and more specifically he meets (and introduces me to) INCREDIBLE people.  He just finished a class and one of his classmates has an amazing career. She is an artist and she owns a studio to make art out of glass.  Her name is April Wagner. She is amazing. Tucked away in a corner of Pontiac, Michigan her workshop is like an art museum full of fragile little master pieces. Each creation is special and unique.  The colors are so intense in some and muted in others, all the glassware she makes has its own personality. Some are functional, like drinking glasses, bowls, vases; others are decorative and just beautiful.
Randy and I were privileged enough to get to make our own art. We got to make icicles.

The kiln (the small fire hole in which the glass melts) is about 2000 degrees. The melted glass is very hot and obviously can't be touched by human hands, so there are these very long metal sticks. (I probably should have spent some time learning the lingo, but I didn't so I will try and make it sound as simple as possible.)The glass is heated and we apply some color, it looks like sanding sugar and we take the melted glass and fuse this "sugar" into it. After that the glass goes back into the fire.  When the glass comes out of the fire it is very pliable, it can be easily bent and shaped. This is where tools like metal tongs and diamond cutters come into use. First we make indents into the glass, then reheat, then we pulled it out (like taffy) and twist it to give it the icicle shape.

Randy's, of course, came out perfect. The colors he picked were great. Mine was ok, but it's largely in part to the excellent professionals we had helping us. I don't think I'm going to be giving up my day job anytime soon, but this sure was fun! They have workshops four times a year, her website is attached for more information.

This is where we went:

 https://www.epiphanyglass.com/