Folk Art In Texas

When the early Spanish and Mexican colonists came to settle Texas, they brought with them a rich culture, the diversity of which is nowhere more evident than in the folk art and folk craft. This first book-length publication to focus on Texas-Mexican material culture shows the richness of Tejano folk arts and crafts traditions.

In Of Texas Rivers and Texas Art, Andrew Sansom, a leading Texas conservationist, and William E. Reaves, an influential Texas art collector and historian, have teamed up to showcase some of the finest contemporary river art detailing the gorgeous traits of Texas landscapes. The featured artwork comes from Randy Bacon, Mary Baxter, David Caton, Margie Crisp, Keith Davis, Fidencio Duran, Jon Flaming, Charles Ford, Pat Gabriel, Hunter George, Billy Hassell, Lee Jamison, Robb Kendrick, Laura Lewis, William Montgomery, Noe Perez, Jeri Salter, Erik Sprohge, Debbie Stevens, and William Young. Art in service of conservation is nothing new, as Sansom and Reaves note in their introductions. And rivers have figured prominently in the artistic imagination for all of recorded history and probably before that, as evidenced by flood stories and myths preserved in almost all the religious and folk traditions of the world. The collection of work included in this book is exemplary of the strong inspiration that rivers have provided for a vast current of literature, music, and art, in turn shaping their place in life and culture and bringing about a greater appreciation of the stunning beauty of our natural world. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

Folk art still influences everyday art in some surprising ways. Folk Art Fusion shows you how to blend classic subjects with new techniques to create a lovely work of art that is completely unique. Folk Art Fusion explores the colorful combination of art styles and presents them in modern folk art paintings. This is your chance to learn how traditional folk art continues to influence today's painters, and to discover how to create contemporary folk-art paintings yourself! Even if you're new to creating art, Folk Art Fusion makes creating your own works approachable with step-by-step projects. The projects are as varied as they are colorful. You will enjoy painting classic subjects painted with creative techniques and in popular styles, including flower fields, Frida Kahlo, the Tree of Life, a cat, a quaint English cottage, and much more. Colorful, contemporary, and inspirational, Folk Art Fusion allows artists of all skill levels to quickly discover the joy of creating modern, global-inspiredart in this time-treasured genre.

The exhibition Spirited Journeys features exceptional works by diverse artists who exemplify the variety and quality of self-taught or folk artists working in Texas during the twentieth century. This exhibition examines for the first time the work of self-taught Texas artists within a cultural and art historical framework, as well as within the broader context of twentieth-century American folk art. It is also the first exhibition of its kind to address environmental work.

Here is the long awaited update of research on the Rufus Porter Landscape Mural School, greatly expanding the knowledge and understanding of this uniquely American folk art field of the 1820s to 1840s. The text provides detailed documentation never seen before in print. The book takes the reader on a virtual tour of Porter School murals in the New England states, presenting and analyzing more than 400 colorful images, which will provide inspiration for historians, researchers, designers, and painters alike. It offers evidence regarding the attribution of these mostly unsigned works, and encourages readers to apply that evidence in reaching their own conclusions. In addition, there is a section concerning the preservation of historic murals and various challenges and threats to such preservation. Finally, the book offers a "how-to" section that interprets Porter's original published mural painting instructions in terms of modern equipment, materials, and supplies.