Black Sheep Gallery - Folk, Outsider and Self-taught Art

Tired of all the stresses of world politics, armed conflict around the world and catastrophic weather conditions? Take a moment, follow Pablo Picasso's advice "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.", and enjoy some simple, honest and pure folk art from the Black Sheep Gallery.

We are very happy to introduce rug hooker Laura Kenney to the gallery this month. Laura was included in Ray Cronin's recent book, "Nova Scotia Folk Art: An Illustrated Guide". Rug hooking has a long tradition of artistic production in Nova Scotia and Laura Kenney's work bridges the lines of fine craft, contemporary art and folk traditions. She uses humour and an alter-ego named Judy in her rugs. Curator Greg Davies from the Cape Breton University Art Gallery explains "Judy is a fictional character, invented by Laura Kenney. She is representative of everyone who has ever harboured desires to break the prescribed roles and social codes of behaviour that confine us all. Anyone who has ever wished to say, "to hell with cooking dinner, going to work, putting on that suit, or doing that laundry!": anyone who has ever wanted to change the problematic order of things and fix the troubles of this world will find an ally in Judy!" Judy is showcased in the hooked rugs we would like to share with you this month.

Another great new addition to the Nova Scotia folk art scene is Craig Naugler. Craig is the son of well-known folk artist Bradford Naugler. Craig's cute little psychedelic owls are hypnotic and very popular. Craig is also featured in Ray Cronin's recent book, "Nova Scotia Folk Art: An Illustrated Guide" and we are pleased to offer one of his owls in this month's update.

Barry Colpitts has been updating us on his progress with the new whirlygig he has been making for us. He decided to reinforce the spinning parts with coiled metal wire but it was slowing down the movement so it is back to the drawing board. The new children's book "Folk Art Animal Sounds", illustrated with pictures of Barry's carvings, was released by Nimbus Publishers in October and it is now available for purchase on their web site. Oh, and by the way, the brown spotted cow available at the gallery says MOO.

Leo Naugler often took a functional object and converted it into a colourful and fanciful work of art. The fish nesting tables he made in 1995 were constructed by Leo and enhanced with a deep blue automotive paint. He has carved out the bright yellow fish on the surface and inserted brass studs for the eyes. These are particularly nice examples of Leo's furniture work.

We have a lot of beautiful birds this month. Like most of the folk artists featured in our gallery, we live in rural Nova Scotia and are blessed with a wide variety of birds. Cecil Mosher (1927-2002) lived and worked along the rugged shores of the south shore of Nova Scotia. His majestic black bird eating fruit may have been created from a memory of the birds he saw as a lighthouse keeper near Tancook Island. The detail on this piece is incredible.

Murray Eisnor (1925-2013) was always making birds: bluebirds, yellow birds, birds with fish in their mouths, robins and seagulls. We would often stop at his roadside stand beside his house and if we were lucky he would take us back to his carving shed. We would delight in looking through his workshop for seagulls and robins and little yellow birds. This month we are offering a collection of some of his tiny birds and a little orange fish that would be perfect for stocking stuffers.

Thomas Rector (1908-2003) lived beside his son at the end of a secluded country lane near Springhill, Nova Scotia. He worked most of his life for the Harrison family on their farm and eventually at their mill and building supply store, and didn't start carving until he was in his late 80s. We met him when he was in his early nineties. He was a tall, gentle man with the delicate hands of an artist. He was also a simple man and you can sense his innocence in the understated elegance of his black bird which we are pleased to feature this month.

The same simplicity is reflected in Charlie Tanner's (1904-1982) blue bird. Charlie is well known for his rotund figures, and also occasionally carved birds. As Chris Huntington said "folk art's common denominator is its freshness. If one seeks for some profound depth in Charlie's work, he will not find it." It is the simplicity and purity of the work that attracts us to it.

And our final collection of birds are found in a painting by Norval Morrisseau. For the Anishnaabe people birds hold spiritual and mythological significance. They can represent messengers or intermediaries between the earthly realm and the spirit world.

California artist Ted Gordon has led a modest life and pursued his "image-making" discretely, keeping contact with the outside world to a minimum. We fell in love with his work the first time we saw it. His compositions are characterised by a compulsive need to fill his drawings with spontaneous motion. Faces are a common subject, and his work can be found in many permanent collections in the USA and Europe, including Le Musee de l'Art Brut in Switzerland, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Museum of American Art, the Museum of American Folk Art, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art. Many of his works are in fact self-portraits. "When I draw something," he explained, "I am that person, fish, or bird." The two drawings we are offering this month are the "Kindly Uncle (Only his dog is in the will)" and the "Political Rival", both done in 1997.

Be safe everyone.

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