It is the joy, beauty, and innocence transmitted through the simple works of folk art that drew me to collecting it from villages all over Asia and the Pacific for many years. It is the art of the people, of hearth and home, and is fashioned from the hands, heart and soul of the maker.
I am compelled to share my love and admiration for folk art’s pure and utterly delightful forms. The makers of folk art are usually villagers, untrained, with something to express, consciously or not. They are usually “playing” with an everyday household object, a tool, instrument, toy, piece of furniture, utensil, or offering – always making that piece more beautiful, interesting, or meaningful.
These pieces are made and imbued with love, joy, and often a sense of humor and play. They’re an outward expression of an inner life. In the unselfconsciousness and purity of good folk art, a window into the heart and soul of another human being is opened. Folk art expresses emotions and dreams without the affectation of intellect. It is, in fact, probably the least pretentious, most honest art form that exists, perhaps because it wasn’t made to be art. Purity, like truth, wipes the slate clean for something new to happen, something real.
I am inspired when I look at these works and experience renewal and joy. These are expressions of real people. They are objects that are not trying to be something; they simply are.
