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Culling Cranberries and Catching Fireflies
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marie@mariefox.com
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FOLK ART STYLE
What is folk art?
I see folk art as a collection of ways of looking at the world by artists generally unschooled in the fine arts. Some folk artists work within a craft tradition using techniques specific to a particular region or culture. Often this art has a practical purpose: a jug to hold water, a quilt to keep warm, or a weathervane to warn of an approaching storm.
Other folk artists like Grandma Moses are self-taught individuals who feel compelled to express their own vision rather than a regional tradition. Hers is child-like in its perfection of the moment. Everyday life is idealized. Perspective is unrealistic and time is compressed with many stories happening simultaneously.
‘Contemporary’ folk art includes artists who have some training in art yet choose to work in this style because it best suits what they have to say.
How does folk art address contemporary life?
A folk artist is a storyteller who speaks through art and the heart to the folk: the public at large, interested in everyday life and personal experiences. This art is understandable, playful and optimistic.
Even now in the 21st century, folk art is well-suited to describing the spirit of home. By suggesting an earlier time and place, it reminds us of our dreams of life centered on family and neighborliness. These images are not merely nostalgic; they encourage us to pursue the values they portray. Like a colorful quilt with carefully stitched scraps of worn clothing, folk art gathers together special memories. It’s cozy and comfortable.
What intrigues you about folk art?
Folk art offers a very personal interpretation of the world but one with universal appeal. Its language is clear and easily understood, its content autobiographical. I recognized that folk art was the means to share with others my connection to story and place: the two great muses of my life.
My own folk art has been enriched by a long fascination with others’ work in this style. One influential source was the Russian icon: I myself carved, painted, and sold about thirty of them after studying their technique. Another great influence was the work of Archibald Willard, whose paintings I studied for my art conservation thesis at Oberlin. For one year I did pigment analyses of forty of his images and then wrote about his life and creativity.
Luckily, he lived near Oberlin and many of his paintings were in a local museum. One of his works was The Spirit of ’76 and I had the good fortune to be researching and writing in the 200th anniversary of that very special American year. For encouragement, my friends sent all kinds of bicentennial stuff with The Spirit of ‘76 cast of characters. Actors playing the three fellows of that image marched in a costumed July 4th parade from Wellington, Archibald’s town, to Oberlin.
Mr. Willard had started out painting pinstripes on wooden Studebaker wagons. He was entirely self-taught and I really did love learning about him. And like this true folk art original, I too figured out the techniques of painting folk art as well as Russian icons by trial and error. Their naivete so inspired me that I was willing to put in the hours. Bootstrapping is a mark of the folk artist.
What is Outsider art?
Art Brut, Naive and Outsider Art are 20th century terms that emphasize a particular aspect of folk art. In 1945 the artist Jean Dubuffet coined the name ‘Art Brut’ or ‘raw art,’ to describe the purity and power he admired in the paintings of children, unschooled artists and the mentally ill. The appeal of French ‘Naif’ or Naive art lay in its child-like simplicity of line, flattened perspective and bright colors. The term ‘Outsider Art,’ devised in the 1970’s, underlines the status of these untrained artists as outside mainstream culture.
ARTISTIC INSPIRATION
 Where do you find inspiration for your paintings?
Inspiration generally finds me! It grabs me by the paintbrush and says “paint this!” The thrill is that I never quite know what will tug on me.
- A story. A heap of giggling brothers, sisters and cousins piled in the hay of an old farm wagon setting out for an evening ride. The clippety-clop of horses’ hooves and some very loud sneezes! As my mother reminisced about her childhood on the farm, Moonlight Hayride lit up my imagination in full color.
- A place. Nantucket first charmed me as a girl during a summer spent babysitting on the island. I loved the cobblestone streets and whimsical details of the old buildings. Its seafaring history and isolation as an island fascinated me. Nantucket is dear to me too because as a budding folk artist, I was given my first gallery show there in 1986. Read about island history at Learn More: Nantucket Island.
- An old photograph. Often people in old photos seem to invite me into their world of long ago. I sense their pride in family, home and community. I’m curious about them and as an artist can reinvent their lives. One such picture of a schoolmarm and her stony-faced pupils lined up in front of their one-room schoolhouse inspired me to paint Last Day of School. How could I not give those poor kids the best, last day of school?
- An old building. Having grown up in a sea captain’s house built in 1793, I’ve always been intrigued by the stories that old houses seem to tell. Who has lived here? What were their toys, chores, secret hiding places and dreams?
- A childhood memory. A pitch-dark summer evening lit only by the flicker of fireflies. My vivid memory of this moment inspired Catching Fireflies.
Which artists have inspired you the most?
Florentine artists were my first love. One summer I was fortunate to spend long days with Giotto, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca and friends while on a college study trip. The beautiful modeling of shapes combined with a decorative flatness intrigued me. I was drawn to the naive feel of this inventive art.
Russian icons are at the top of my list too. For most of 1971 I traveled to major US museums with an exhibit of Russian art. While it’s true that Peter the Great’s chalice and Ivan the Terrible’s saddle were the stars in the show, what enthralled me were the exquisitely painted icons. No doubt, the jewel-like colors, delicate details, sturdy design, and stories painted within the borders inspired my folk art.
Closer to home, Grandma Moses has delighted me with her painted tales and Grant Wood with his sculpted landscapes.
Do you see yourself as a new Grandma Moses?
No. But I’ve learned much from her art as storytelling. Her paintings are colorful, humorous, insightful and animated by her love of life. She’s amused by ordinary people and events. I aspire to be as fine a visual storyteller as she was.
ARTISTIC JOURNEY
When did you first suspect you might become an artist?
Drawing, building things and playing with colors have always thrilled me. As a kid, I loved making cardboard boxes into houses for my dolls. My fascination with these miniature worlds would later continue into my folk art visions.
Do you come from an artistic family?
Yes. My family includes a naval architect, two landscape architects, a clothing designer, and a very creative teacher. As important as artsy genes was being taught to be curious, to look carefully and to see beauty. I treasure that legacy.
Did you train to be an artist?
My education in the arts is broad. In college my passion was art history. It introduced me to the great artists and trained my eye to see visual and historical connections. Degree in hand, I headed for art school, aspiring to be Michelangelo. Unfortunately, that glorious year spent chipping away at marble brought no art patrons to the studio door.
Different jobs for the next five years were stepping stones on the art path. They included teaching art, selling museum books, accompanying an exhibit of Russian art on a year-long tour of the U.S., painting Russian icons and inventing artful products for schoolchildren visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Studying art conservation for three years on a Ford Foundation grant and then working in a museum, I came to know great art close up. It was a thrill to simply touch these paintings. It was a privilege to examine and repair them and so help to preserve their heritage.
Why did you want to paint folk art?
I’d grown up in an 18th century house by the sea in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The town, founded in 1637, is still populated by many Mayflower descendants. Folk art portraits of ancestors adorn the walls and antique cape houses line the lanes. History shapes and colors the landscape.
At age 20, I couldn’t wait to leave all this behind. But two decades later in 1985 I found myself needing a journey home to explore my roots. I left Southern California and once back in New England, I was newly smitten by everything old around me. I was bursting to share what I’d found about my family and region. I needed to tell my stories through art. As I picked up my brush, folk art felt right.
Was there something that jumpstarted your career?
For a year I painted in a creative frenzy and then went in search of a gallery. On a visit to Nantucket I discovered Sailor’s Valentine Gallery, which later held my first show in 1986. Happily, it was a success and another show followed.
The gallery also submitted my name to The White House for consideration as featured artist of the 1986 tree-lighting ceremony. I was selected and in December presented my painting to President and Mrs. Reagan during the nationally televised pageant on The Ellipse. The next year the First Lady invited me to decorate a wooden egg for display at The White House Easter Egg Roll. My career was off on a good roll!
Where else has your folk art appeared?
My paintings have been shown by galleries in Boston, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Charleston and Woodstock, Vermont. Willard Scott has twice featured my prints on the Today Show and both Country Living and USAir magazines have featured my folk art on their covers. Read Hatsy Shields’ story in USAir.
Since 1987 over 50,000 of my prints and posters have sold. In addition, my folk art has been reproduced by Panasonic, Bigelow Tea and other corporations as calendars, cards, book illustrations, prints and puzzles.
PAINTING TECHNIQUE
How do you begin a painting?
As the “Aha!” moment arrives, I quickly sketch my idea on the nearest napkin or envelope. I then buy a stretched canvas whose size feels right, smaller for the intimacy of Sweet Dreams, or larger for the bird’s-eye-view of Nantucket Island.
Next, the sketch is enlarged and refined in pencil on the new canvas. I devote many hours to this design stage. I want to build the perfect framework to tell my story. A building might be scaled up or down using a copier, its perspective distorted or angle changed. If I’m having trouble positioning a tree, I’ll redraw it on a small piece of paper so it can be moved about easily until it’s in the right spot.
How do you paint all those tiny details?
By nature, I was blessed with a steady hand but not much patience. My ten years of training and practice in art conservation filled that gap. Repair of museum paintings required extensive analysis of art materials and methods. I repeatedly tested the effects of different solvents, planned treatments for paintings and then executed them with the utmost care. Entrusted with these treasures of art, I learned respect for slow and patient work. I also came to love the world of detail that I discovered through the microscope.
Do you stand at an easel?
No, I built an easel that sits on a tabletop. I find it’s easier to paint the many details in my folk art paintings while seated, my elbow resting on a flat surface.
Do you use photographs?
Yes, I often use them for inspiration as well as visual information. An old photo of a one-room schoolhouse caught my eye and excited my imagination. I could instantly see the gleeful children of my painting Last Day of School.
Before starting to paint Historic Boston, I spent a month researching my hometown on foot. I took photos of everything I felt I might include in my painting: churches, parks, wrought iron fences, architectural details and even grave markers. With the photos taped to the walls of my studio, I could get the information I needed to create a true but imagined Boston of a century ago.
What are your painting materials?
I use acrylics on primed, stretched canvas. Acrylics are great because they dry quickly, do not emit harmful vapors, are soluble in water and clean up easily.
Do you varnish your paintings?
Yes. As an art conservator I spent long hours painstakingly cleaning paintings. Because it’s important to protect the paint surface from grime, I do brush a coat of non-yellowing synthetic varnish on each of my folk art paintings. This varnish layer also saturates the colors, making them vibrant and fresh.
How long did it take you to paint Historic Boston?
The actual painting took four months of 10-12 hour workdays in my tiny 5th-floor walk-up at the top of Beacon Hill. But before that I spent weeks researching and planning. I poured over old maps and photos of Boston. Then I took to the streets to explore my hometown anew, take photos and find the Boston of 200 years ago. Moving between the old images and the physical now helped me calibrate the result.
Do you ever put people you know in your paintings?
Yes. Friends and family members inhabit my paintings. One sister owns the millinery shop, a girlfriend plays shortstop and my father looks out to sea. Only once have I intentionally included myself. In Historic Boston I painted myself as the artist painting herself into the scene. But I’ve come to realize that when children appear in my folk art, I’m always the oldest as in life.
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