Yvonne Wells 1947- Tuscaloosa, AL Quilter This lady apparently never slept. She was a teacher, a paramedic, an avid churchgoer and, oh, when she had a little extra time, a fabulous self-taught quilter. Yvonne’s quilts aren’t the sewing bee kind, more like funky, found fabric…
Betty Sue Matthews 1950- Brundidge, AL Paintings, unconventional material Completely self-taught, Betty Sue Matthews started drawing when she was three years old and has never stopped. Sometimes, raising children and financial issues forced her art to be put on hold, but she always returned to…
Lonnie Holley February 10, 1950 – Harpersville, AL Folk art environment, sculptures, and paintings When he created sandstone tombstones for his sister’s children after they died in a house fire, Lonnie Holley found an outlet for his profound grief. Soon he began to build an…
Hartline Assembly of God Church – Benjamin Franklin “B. F.” Perkins February 6, 1904 — January 12,1993 Bankston, AL Folk art environment and painter Built: 1969-1993 Benjamin Franklin Perkins once was a marine who guarded President Coolidge, and later he was a well-known traveling evangelist…
Annie Mural Tolliver March 20,1950 — Montgomery, AL Painting (oil or water-based) Annie Tolliver was born on March 20, 1950 in Montgomery, Alabama. Annie is the daughter of the preeminent folk artist, Mose Tolliver and Willie Mae Tolliver. She watched her father draw and paint…
Ave Maria Grotto – Joseph Zoetl 1878 — 1961 Cullman, AL Religious/spiritual environment Built: 1932 – 1958 At the age of 13, Joseph Zoettl, almost died of the flu that swept Europe. A year later, when candidates for the St. Bernard Abbey were sought, he…
Jimmy Lee Sudduth March 10, 1910 – September 2, 2007 Fayette, AL Painter “I’m gonna be fay-mous, fay-mous! I didn’t learn much in school—Just learned to write my name—Jim. But I believe I’d rather be famous, than rich or smart.” “I leave the drips so…
Tin-Man Sculpture Garden – Charlie Lucas October 12, 1951 – Selma, AL Sculptures “I want my soul to be a good soul when I show people what I do. I’m not doing it for the money. If I never sold a piece, I’d do it…
Mose Tolliver July 4, 1919 — October 30, 2006 Montgomery, AL Painter “At first [after his accident], everyone took care of me and I got lazy. When I took up painting, I got started again.” “I run a painting with a black strip—that’s better than…
Another beautiful day, another incredible grotto. This weekend’s tour has become a study in organized cacophony. It seems that the sites that I have seen in the last few days are so densely packed that at first glance the sheer volume seems to overwhelm. But just…