Iowa Folk Artists is a celebration of the folk traditions that Iowa artists have carried on from those first days up to the present. Compiled by a writer who grew up surrounded by the rich handiwork of Iowa folk, from her grandmother's embroidery and quilting to her great uncle's while prairie barn, the book introduces us to contemporary artists continuing some of the best traditions from earlier days -- and living the life that makes their work meaningful.
In sixteen extensive interviews -- and 80 black-and-white pictures by the renowned photographer Charles Brill -- we meet carvers and rosemalers, potters and quilters, artists trained and self-taught, working in ethnic traditions and sustaining the ways of the Amana and Quaker communities, Among them are Harley Refsal of Decorah, who has single-handedly revived Norwegian flat-plane carving in both Norway and the United Slates: Sarah Grant-Hutchison and James Lueders, who have merged fine art and folk art to create painted, sculpted "sticks": and Anne Sedars of Prole, taking a rest after filling an order for 800 of her enchanting cornhusk dolls. Their stories and others help to explain the long life and deep appeal of the folk art of Iowa; created from a life of strong rural roots and values, this is truly art from the heart.
