January 15 - April 11, 2010 Erie Art Museum, Erie

May 1 - July 31, 2010Adams County Council on the Arts, Gettysburg

September 1 - November 30, 2010Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, Homestead

May 14 - August 28, 2011 Michener Art Museum, Doylestown

November 19, 2011 - April 29, 2012The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg

This exhibit explores lots kinds of folk art.

You will see how folk art is used to:

Shape Communities

Live Creatively

Practice Spirituality Be Healthy

and Create Social Change

Shaping Community

• Name some communities you know.

• How many different communities are in your school?

• Do some teachers have traditions they do each year with their students?

Dosina Blemahdoo, Pittsburgh Dressmaker from Ghana (Africa)

•What is dressmaking?

•How are these dresses different from ones you see in an American store?

•Has anyone ever made you a piece of clothing by hand?

Yolanda Lorya, Erie - African Beadwork

•These beads are made for the dance costumes of the Latuko people. (Some live in Africa, some have moved to other countries.)

•Where are most of the beads put? Why do you think they are there?

Paulett Simunich, Johnstown -

Ukrainian Pysanky Egg Decoration

•Why does she have a candle?

•What makes the eggs so beautiful?

•Have you ever decorated eggs? What did you use to do it?

Diana Meng, Camp Hill - Chinese Watercolor

•This artist believes that painting is not just decoration, she believes it quiets the heart. What do you think she means by this?

•What do you do to quiet your heart or to make you calm?

Living Creatively in Our World

• What objects in nature have you used to make art?

• Why do some artists use things they find instead of buying their supplies?

Jymm Hoffman, Ambridge - Blacksmithing

•Blacksmithing is the art of shaping metals with heat and pounding.

•The orange metal above is red hot.

•What do you think he is making?

Ken Ely, Brooklyn - Fieldstone Walls

•This artist builds walls without cement. How does he make the wall hold together?

•Where would you look to find stones for a wall?

Tim Schloss, Erie - Taxidermy

•Taxidermy is mounting non-living animals by stuffing and posing them.

•Why would someone want a taxidermy duck?

•Have you ever seen a taxidermy animal?

Ross Shourds, Mainesburg - Wooden Decoy Carvings

•How were these birds made?

•What do hunters use them for?

•What do farmers use them for?

Practicing Spirituality

• Can you learn right and wrong from art?

• How does art help us build character?

Charles “Skip” Culleiton, Lower Burrell

Sawdust Carpet Display

•These carpets are made of many little pieces of colored sawdust.

•Why is there a grid?

•Have you ever decorated a street or sidewalk?

Bill Roberson, Altoona

Native American Traditional Dance and Craft

•Why do the dancers wear rattles on their legs instead of their arms?

• What did he use to make the rattles?

Susan Leviton, Harrisburg

Jewish Calligraphy and Papercutting

•This is not a drawing, it is a papercut!

•The artist does not use scissors. What is she using? Why?

•What kinds of art have you made by cutting paper?

Nurturing Well-being and Health

How does singing and dancing make you feelgood and keep you healthy?

What others kinds of art helps people feel better?

David Castano, Coudersport - Carved Figures

•Each carving represents an actual person. What are they holding? How are they dressed?

•How would you feel if someone made a carving of you? What would it hold and what would it wear?

Vera Nakonechny, Philadelphia - Ukrainian Healing Towels

•These towels are sewn by hand and then a sick person is wrapped in them.

•What do you do to help a sick person feel better?

Creating Social Change and Awareness

• How can you learn about fairness through art?

• Can art help you get along with other people?

Frito Bastien, Philadelphia - Haitian Memory Painting

This artist uses his paintings to tell stories about people being treated unfairly.

POSE II, Philadelphia - Graffiti Art

•Some artists use brushes and canvas to make paintings. What do you think he uses?

•Have you seen graffiti art somewhere before?

Losang Samten, Philadelphia - Tibetan Sand Mandala

Have you ever made anything out of sand? What was it?

This artist travels to many places to make sand paintings. He does this to bring peace to each place.

Spiral Q Puppet Theatre, Philadelphia

Peoplehood Parade Puppets

These people are using costumes and puppets they made to talk about important issues.

How do you work out problems?

Folk art is used to:

Shape Communities

Live Creatively

Practice Spirituality Be Healthy

and Create Social Change

What kind of art are you learning from yourfriends or family?