Mary Michael Shelley

According to Wikipedia, folk art describes a wide range of objects that reflect the craft traditions & traditional social values of various social groups. Folk art is generally produced by people who have little or no academic artistic training, nor a desire to emulate "fine art", and use established techniques and styles of a particular region or culture. Folk artist Mary Michael Shelley lists many adjectives on her home page that have been used to describe her work. This self-taught artists' work seems to fit the definition of folk art perfectly. Her carved folk art paintings span a variety of topics including diners and farm life. I'd have to say that the Adam and Eve pieces on carved pine are my favorite. I admire Mary's work because it doesn't seem to take itself too seriously which I believe lends even more credit to her original designs. Have a look at all of Mary's wonderful works of art. (work shown is titled Guard Dogs #3)

3 comments:

capitolagirl said...

Great article, thanks for writing about Mary's folk art today! I like her work!

Mark said...

I think folk art is a hard genre to really appreciate, but this highlights a reason to like it.

Those dogs pictured are great. Obviously a lot of talent goes into it whether you're "classically trained" or not!

Anonymous said...

Nice blog. I love folk art representing the life in the good old days. The best thing about folk art is it's simplicity and originality. The art work of the dogs is very good. Mary is very creative.