Folk Art encompasses a wide range of visual arts that are typically handmade and relate to a culture in which they were created. It focuses on the preservation of tradition and is distinct from high art.
Typical folk artists are self taught and do not follow the academic traditions of fine art. This allows them to create works that are uniquely personal and idiosyncratic.
Sculpture
Sculpture is a three-dimensional art form that allows the artist to express ideas, themes and emotions. Sculpting also helps individuals develop their manipulative skills. Sculpture can be in high or low relief, figurative or abstract, and static or kinetic.
Historically, sculpture was largely associated with religious, magic and ceremonial practices. Often, it served as a way to preserve the history of a culture or nation.
The recognition of folk art as a separate category came during the late 19th century, when the intellectual climate of that time promoted the romantic value of peasant life and the idea that simple tools, utensils, and crafts had aesthetic aspects.
Painting
Painting is an artistic medium that can be used to tell a story or convey a message. It can also be used to express a sense of community and culture.
Many folk artists are self taught and paint for fun or as a hobby. They tend to focus on everyday activities and the cultural identities of their communities.
When painting try varying the size of your strokes to create different textures. Experimenting with these textures can add depth to your paintings. Also, focusing on one area of the painting at a time can improve your concentration skills and help you to notice little details that may have gone wrong.
Embroidery
Embroidery can reveal a great deal about a culture’s aesthetic, social, and even religious systems. Its thread, fabric, and shape may signify wealth, social status, or ethnic identity.
Individuality is also a common feature of folk art, even when it is created within conventional forms and traditions. Self-taught artists often develop an intensely personal and idiosyncratic style that may be highly decorative or symbolic.
Embroidery is often used by charities to help people with mental or physical disabilities, and organisations like Fine Cell Work use embroidery to give prisoners a sense of purpose and achievement. It’s a creative activity that has been shown to release dopamine, a mood-enhancing chemical.
Crafts
In a world where everything goes at high speed and needs are constantly satisfied, crafts are a perfect way to teach children how to concentrate and focus. It also helps develop their fine motor skills which are important for their daily life and learning.
Oftentimes, folk art is decorative and may include carved or painted embellishments on functional objects such as shuttles, chests, and corset stays. These decorations might reflect the transmission of ideas, prevailing trends in design, or the creative desires of the maker.
Folk artists are not worried about making things look realistic or accurate so they can make a lot of colourful and abstract work. This makes their art unique and interesting.
Toys
A toy is a plaything designed for children. It may be a simple object like a rock or stick, or it could be a more complicated mechanical puzzle or a game of chance.
Historically, toys have served many purposes, from teaching children to read and write to encouraging physical activity and social interaction. Toys also have been a means of self-expression, with painted and carved decorations indicating cultural ideas, prevailing trends, or personal interests.
Appropriate toys for elementary school-age children, six to nine years, include arts and crafts materials (such as crayons, markers, paint, modeling clay, and simple weaving); plush toys; puzzles; kites; aquariums and terrariums; and books with adventure stories, science topics, or jokes, riddles, and tongue twisters.
Music
While many of the arts cited as folk art are quite conventional, some show a remarkable level of individuality. Self-taught artists like American folk artist Grandma Moses, for example, drew on her personal experience to make paintings that are simple and unaffected in their childlike expressions of life as it was lived.
A key feature of the genre is its one-off production process; each piece is handmade rather than machine made. As a result, folk artists are not concerned with making their work look realistic or following traditional art rules about perspective and proportion.
Community Building
Community building is a way of bringing people together to share common interests and values. The process can be used to build trust between members and also encourages people to get involved in projects that are important to the community.
Community folk arts organizations like the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC) in Syracuse, NY focus on safeguarding and revitalizing these traditional arts. They provide apprenticeships, fellowships and community based projects to bring these cultural traditions to a wider audience.
CFAC is open to people from all walks of life and promotes participation among the public in its programs. This helps the community to build a strong and vibrant culture that celebrates its own uniqueness.
