|
ABOUT CABIN FOLK Betty and Bob Creech - after retirement - worked with primitive antiques, buying from local estate sales, then selling at antique shows. They specialized in folk art items - things made by hand, some- times crudely, which made them special finds…… Along the way, they were finding that the old Christmas and Holiday items were very sought after - only thing, they were also very hard to find, as they had been quite fragile and were thrown away….. or when they did find a Santa or an Angel, it was very pricey! So……...Betty started making primitive Santas and taking to their shows, using old fabrics and raggedy quilt pieces for coats. The faces and hands she made of clay or paper mache, and the hair was wool - which she found locally from a sheep farmer. They were grabbed up as fast as she could unpack them. Realizing the need and demand for replicas of the OLD memorabilia, she moved on to copies of the old CHALKWARE, and using chocolate molds for some, making molds of old turn-of-the-century items for some, and some of her Santas and Angels she sculp'd in clay, then made molds…always trying to keep them looking like they had come from another time. She found a "Hydrocal Gypsum", which dries quite hard and is resilient to chipping. After drying - which takes several days - the chalk items are painted at least 4 coats of paint, plus an antique glaze and a sealer……A felt protector is glued to the bottom to protect your furniture. Signed. And then came PAPER MACHE…. About as primitive as one can get - copies of the early Antique German and Global Holiday figures….She scours the antique markets looking for the fun and collectable St. Nicks and Santas, and tries to adapt their looks and charm for her holiday creations, only not so fragile, and affordable. The mache items are all hand-molded. Sizes quoted are approximate, as no two turn out exactly alike………....The candy containers are molded over cardboard cylinders, a process that takes several days, as each application of mache has to air dry. Then the figures are painted, at least 4 coats of paint, plus a coat of antique glaze and a sealer. The bases are sprinkled with a coat of mica "snow", and a felt protector is glued to the bottom to protect your furniture. Signed. |
|
|
|
…….a tired old Santa |