Country Sampler Magazine

Our artist Barbara Young  of Turkey Hollow American Folk Art 

has been blessed with having  her humble abode featured

in the September 2007 issue of Country Sampler magazine.

Click HERE to see a bit of the wonderful article, tis 

delightful

The Recipe, In Me

Has anyone ever asked you, "How did you start......." , to which you just replied with a quick, "I don't know~ never thought about it I guess" ? I get that question alot, and thought I would share one of the major ingredients to my recipe.....
When I was young, my Grandmother Ioerger was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. She was a china painter and studied at the local studio where I grew up. I was always drawing and painting anyways, so she decided to choose me, from all the children and grandchildren, to hand her paints and china down to. It was like a box full of treasure and precious gems....and, as I learned, it truly was. Painting china (not ceramic), is sadly becoming a lost art. It is very labor intensive, can only be fired in a special kiln hot enough for china, and one piece takes layer after layer after layer of paint. Paint on a color, fire. Paint on another color, fire. On and on sometimes a dozen or more times....and the best is always last~ the gold and precious metals. Below are my precious viles and pots of pure 24k gold~ they go on black, and after firing and burnishing, appear like magic........so precious and beautiful

Behind the viles and pots of gold, are some of my jars of different oils~ they are used to mix the powdered paints, and 'they' are what gives a china painter's studio the 'smell'. Its like nothing you have ever smelt before~ like Heaven on earth to me. There is lavender oil, Dresden and Kelp oils, just to name a few.

Below are some of Grandma's color study books, and her hand made paint brushes that I now use. Within her hand written pages, all the secrets as to what colors fire best over what other colors~ quite like a dyer's book today
Here is one of my glass palettes, ready with paint for a set of Dresden china dolls I am painting~ a late 18th century couple, you'll see in a minute
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...the paints. Grandma had some of the most precious, rare colors~ I was always the envy of the other ladyes at the studio.... each vile holds a special concoction of powdered earth elements....some of which, are no longer found on this Earth. Just a teensie weensie dip in with the palette knife will do~ a single grain sometimes.....this is placed on a porcelain tile, and carefully added to different oils, and then ground and ground round with the knife...sometimes 10 minutes or more. There is NEVER any rush in painting china.......
Here is a little peek at some things that both I, and my Grandmother, painted. She did the 2 dollys in the center, and the teapot.....I painted the pot on the center left, and my pair of 18th century dollys in the back ,which still have another coat of skin tone, and gold to be done.....and the little pot in the foreground I added, because Grandma lined it in 1952, and I am doing the painting.
It's not exactly "Primitive", but its a big part of the recipe that made me who I am~ Rachael Kinnison, Diamond K Folk Art

Gone Fishin....

This past Sunday we went fishing at Keystone State Park, it's about an hour away from where we live. We didn't catch much....just 3 little Blue Gills. I actually don't mind fishing, it's pretty relaxing.

Here's Michael playing baseball with his Dad...I was sitting this game out...we did have a fun game of Frisbee, and thankfully I didn't break anything..LOL!

I hope everyone is having a great summer!

My Sunny Studio

Several years ago I was lucky enough to convince my husband to turn our garage into my studio. It sits in the far corner of our yard with windows on three sides and French doors on the other. I’ve got lots of cubbies for my wool, and counter space and cabinets for hiding all sorts of other stuff. (I have too much stuff!) And I can’t forget the shelves for my ever-growing reference library. (I love books almost as much as I love textiles!)



I heat the studio with a wood stove and in the summer, the ceiling fan keeps me cool. My little couch is the perfect place for a nap on rainy afternoons.



It’s great to have a place to work in that I can just shut the door on. If I don’t want to clean up, I don’t have to, although between all the wool dust from cutting and hooking and the ash from the wood stove in the winter, I have to vacuum fairly often.



The one thing I am missing is a dye kitchen. There’s no running water out there. But, of course, I have a big enough stash that I shouldn’t have to dye! And I can always raid my sister Barb’s wool pile!

Thanks for visiting!

Sarah
Hallowed Hill Primitives

Family Reunion

"When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points or it would be impossible to endure them." ~George Bernard Shaw

That is what my mother-in-law must have been thinking as we all gathered at the home of my in-laws this past week.
Our family has been gone for a few days traveling to and from a family reunion. And although it was good to catch up on one another's lives and see how much everyone has grown (I'm referring the kids, but some of the adults have "grown" as well!)...it is good to be home again.

All of my husband's clan lives in the Northwest, and most all live in WA. We traveled with our two boys, and our dog, Roscoe, on a 9 hour trip from Boise to Elma, WA.
Two of my husband's sisters and their families met at Nana and Grandpa's home. While there, we visited Mason Lake in Shelton, (one of the sister's was house-sitting for a family who owned a lakehome.) We had a BBQ, swimming in the lake and use of a paddle boat, which Roscoe loved!

The next day we went to the coast and spend the day on the Pacific Ocean in the town of Westport. We just happened to be there at the same time some tall ships were docked. We were able to take an onboard tour and the boys were given "gold" plated coins after the tour.

After church on Sunday (we filled a few pews), we had lunch out on the lawn at the in-laws.

On our family trip home we stopped at Multnomah Falls and hiked up (with Roscoe in tow) to see the different levels. It is a beautiful place.

But,there is no place like home...(and your own bed!).

Suzanne~
Pear Tree Primitives

Hello From Whendi's Bears

Hi- I am Wendy Meagher (pronounced Mahar) of Whendi’s Bears. I have been making early style mohair teddy bears and other unique creations for the past 15 years. I am one of the artists that make up this wonderful & talented group called The Primitive Gathering.

I thought I would start my first post, telling you a little bit about myself and where I live….I don’t want to bore you too much so I will keep it brief, I promise!

I live in Upstate NY. Yes, I live in the SNOW capitol of the world. If you saw last winters news reports…..THAT is where I live! We got so much snow last winter, houses were literally buried….remember hearing about that? Each time winter arrives, me and all my neighbors grumble about how much we hate living here and want to fly south for the winter. They call those people, “snowbirds”. This is a picture of us (well, not me, I was standing safe on the ground supervising) shoveling the snow from the roof of the barn…notice the harnesses & tie downs so they didn’t fall off!

Despite all the snow we receive, it really is a nice place to live. Although there is not many cool things to do locally, we are within driving distance of many attractions & touristy places to go. Such as Niagara Falls, Canada, Thousand Islands, Adirondack & Catskill Mountains, and of course, New York City, to name just a few bigger places to go. I live on the tip of the Finger Lakes region which offers a variety of delights, like the infamous wineries and great antique shops abound! Not to mention some of the most beautiful lakes in the country. This lake is only 3 miles from my home. What a sunset! And there is Frenchmans Island in the background.
We have friends that have a house in the Thousand Islands which we visit each year. Here is the famous Boldt Castle and in the front is the power house. The next picture is Ashler Tower which was built for the children as a playhouse….WoW, what kid wouldn’t love to have this thing in their back yard!

We just took a recent trip to Niagara Falls this spring for my daughters’ softball tournament, had a great time and took some cool pictures to share.


Believe it or not, I have never been to New York City. So, hopefully, this fall we will take that trip to the Big Apple with another couple. Can’t wait to see all the regular tourist attractions like the Statue of Liberty. We plan on taking the train so we won’t have to drive and worry about a car. If you have been there and have any advice for us (ie, places to go, places to stay away from), your comments are most appreciated!

You may not know but along with 2 teenage daughters, I own 3 horses! I call the 3 horses my ‘boys’, well, because they are all male horses and I don’t have any boy children. I don’t actually know where I get the time to do anything with them other than feed and clean but when I actually get to work with them, I totally enjoy it. Here is a pic of me working with the baby boy, Jack.

Me & my girls used to show the horses but now that they are older they have found other interests. Every now and then I can get all of us together to enjoy a trail ride….my most favorite thing to do! My husband is not really fond of the horses, he would much rather ride on something that you fill up with gas, but on a very rare occasion I can get just the two of us out on the trails!

Thanks for visiting our blog and learning a little bit more about each artist in the group