Kentucky folk artist Ronald Cooper died in a hospital in Lexington on Saturday, August 18th, 2012. Ronald and Jessie Cooper became artists by chance in their mid-fifties. Prior to that, their lives had followed a path common for their generation: early marriage, leaving their home-town…
Ben Thal, Sculptor 1932- Edmonds, Washington When semi-retired Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon, Ben Thal, puts down his scalpel and picks up his carving knife, fantastic wind-powered whirligigs become a sight for your eyes. With over 100 hours going into each piece, and reluctant to sell his masterpieces, Ben…
Above: Hubert Walters in his garage, below one of his pieces of art “Emancipated Slaves” I just got an email from Kevin Gordon in Nashville sharing with me the sad news that we lost another great self-taught artist, Hubert Walters. He died last week from…
J.L. Nippers | 1935- | Beechgrove, TN | Chainsaw sculptures Just got off the phone with J.L., wishing him a happy birthday. We got to talking about his longtime friendship with Homer Green, Homer’s orneriness, his contributions to Homer’s work, how to distinguish the differences, and more. J.L. was best friends with Homer…
“When I was 80, I had enough work to do for the next 10 years. Now at 90, I have work lined up for 10 more years. I don’t think God is going to take me before I finish. I have work to do.” Ralph Lanning, Republic,…
Even though the Slotin auction is going on today, and I promised myself to stay away from the flame, art still found me. Susan, Tina, and Nancy, (last names omitted to protect the innocent) members of the folk art group “The Art Tarts”, came by…
(Dr. Smith and Larry Harris at the Kohler Symposium in September 2007) Renowned outsider artist, Dr. Charles Smith was admitted to a Covington, LA hospital after complaining of chest pains on Tuesday. According to Larry Harris, close friend of Dr. Smith’s, he is in good…
Just talked with MT, and his is doing fine after his double kneereplacement surgery last week. There was a bit of concern surroundingwhether or not to have them done at all, considering his heart health.But he came through with flying colors… He is in the…
This slide show has been graciously shared by Arlen Schlibig. It is an amazing documentation of a site that has unfortunately fallen into disrepair, I feel lucky to get to see this environment in it’s original glory…thanks, Arlen. To see more photos of this Tennessee…
Dan Slaughter McGregor, IA Sculptures and environment So, Larry and I didn’t take our respective flights home from the Kohler conference, instead opted for a car trip back to KC through Iowa, with hopes of seeing some new sites and revisiting old friends. After…