Trash to Treasure, Creating Folk Art and Crafts for Fun and Profit

A folk artist has the gift of seeing beauty in disorder, structure in chaos, and recovering forgotten emotion from discarded possessions. With the skill of a fine craftsman and the love of a patient parent, the folk artist evaluates each component of his creative work and sews these jagged pieces of cultural fabric into a new creation of useful relevant art. This, in essence, is the basic definition of a folk artist, an indigenous man or woman that creates useful art from culturally significant materials. But many individuals that have created fine folk art did so solely out of financial necessity; they never considered themselves to be artists of any kind. An example of this type of artist can be found in the early African-American wood carvers that worked in their candle-lit dwellings during the Civil-War Era of our United States History. One of these men, bound by the chains of a vicious and cruel Southern Slavery, may have spent what little spare time that he had carving a small wooden guitar from discarded tree limbs he found in the field. This man would have carved the instrument because he wanted a guitar to play at his church, or during some social gathering amongst his friends. He certainly would not have made the carving simply because he wanted to make something pretty. There was no need for such a display under those harsh circumstances. This guitar (if it really existed) would have been built for the slave's basic utilitarian purpose of needing a musical instrument. Despite the basic intent, the guitar today would be a valuable piece of cultural and period folk art, and it would also be appreciated for its decorative value.

Twenty-first century folk art is also created for utilitarian and decorative purposes. Much like the example of our African-American ancestor above, today's folk artist will generally use materials that are locally available, such as indigenous hardwood trees, earth-based clays, and various mineral and rock deposits. Other materials, such as discarded metal, broken glass, and manufactured wood items, are also available to the modern-day folk artist. All of these items can usually be obtained for a very reasonable price within the local community, and sometimes, they can even be acquired for free.

This photo of an artist built pool cue display demonstrates the capability of folk art in today's marketplace. Decorative and functional game room items such as this piece are highly desired by pool players building at-home billiard parlors for their sport. This particular piece of furniture was constructed by the author using discarded wood, broken glass, and other throw-away items that were accumulated one at a time from various places within the local community. The front decorative panel was fabricated primarily by using the remnant of an old wooden door. The door had received severe water damage in the lower frame support from years of neglect, and it had become unusable to its owner. For this reason, it had been left outside the owner's home for trash collection. Once the door was collected, the damaged area was cut from the door using a carpenter's square, and it was discarded. The decorative aspect of the antique key hole and door handle was then used as a center piece for the construction of the pool cue holder. The beautiful resin head sculpture (also a previously discarded item) was then mounted in mortar and centered within the window space of the wooden door. The dark-colored mortar was then highlighted with embedded segments of broken glass shards (also obtained for free). Trim pieces for the piece were made from warped pool cues that were salvaged and carefully cut to the proper height before installation. The remaining construction of this piece was simple joinery and carpentry work that allowed for the safe storage of pool cues by sliding them into PVC sleeved tubes running the length of the vertical box height. The finished product is a beautiful accent to any pool room and a unique piece of folk art that should only grow in value with time.

A well respected and gifted folk artist from Fairhope, Alabama once told this writer that he would never pick an item up (to use in his art) unless it first speaks to him. I knew what he meant immediately, but it was a significant moment for me in knowing that I shared an insight with such a talented artist. This artist, today known by his signature name of T-Rex, spends many early-morning hours walking the beaches of South Alabama locating artistic shapes in driftwood that have washed upon the shoreline near his home. He takes these random pieces of wood that have "spoken" to his heart, and he constructs unbelievable works of figurative sculpture with them. This art has such detail that it would appear to the observer that each piece of driftwood was specifically designed by God for T-Rex to utilize in his sculpture. The artistic efforts and constructive skill of T-Rex are rewarded with pieces of art that are in high demand locally and sell at premium prices throughout the South. For more on the art of T-Rex, please visit his website here.

Despite the success of artists such as T-Rex and others, don't make the mistake of going into folk art in an effort to make high-dollar income, as this is very difficult to achieve in any art field. If, however, you see a broken piece of machinery in a junk yard, and it speaks to you in such a way that you simply must have it, you may be a latent folk artist trying to let your creative side break free. A great way to get started as an amateur folk artist is to simply collect items that are interesting to you (they speak to you, as T-Rex would say). If folk art is the chosen path for your artistic abilities, you will soon discover that visions of art will come to you at very odd times. These visions will incorporate the various oddball items that you have collected and lead you into an exploration of construction techniques that is satisfying both intellectually and spiritually. Artistic visions like this are a special gift that few people ever experience, and even fewer people actually act upon and appreciate them. Listen to these gifts of insight, flow with them, and transfer the emotion of this experience into your work. When your piece is finished, it should "speak" not only to your heart, soul, and mind, but also to the spirit and mind of anyone fortunate enough to study it.

As for the commercial applications of folk art , there are many outlets available for selling one's completed projects. Many artists sell their work at consignment shops or antique booths. A consignment shop will take a percentage of the sale's price as a fee for their services. Some of these shops will assist you in pricing your art correctly so that it will sell for maximum profit. Don't take their suggestions personally if the price seems too low. Understand that the consignment manager wants the same thing that you do, the highest sales price for your art work. The business arrangement with antique booths and flea markets dealers is a little different from the consignment shop. Most often the artist will be required to rent space from the business in order to display his work for sale. The fee is commonly based on the square footage needed by the artist and the value of the commercial property being leased. Other sales methods used by folk artists to generate sales are art show displays, booth rental at local festivals, and even online websites such as Ebay or Etsy. Online sales are an excellent tool for the modern artist, but their use is limited by the size, weight, and composition of the work. The shipping cost for large or heavy artistic items often make Internet sales near impossible unless a local pickup or delivery can be arranged with the buyer.

An excellent website that addresses the possible income opportunities available for those with arts and crafts skills can be found at the Poorwomansguide.com. You can also view a sample of this author's arts and craft website at KryptoArt.com. Becoming a folk artist is a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of hard work. Take plenty of time to learn the skills that you need before you become involved in a project that is too complex for your abilities. Attend instructive classes in welding, carpentry, painting, glass making, or any other craft skill that you enjoy. Knowledge will make you a better artist and help you to develop the eye necessary to discover those special items that will "speak" only to you.