The Measure of a Man Articulated Antique Folk Art Sculpture

The Measure of a Man  Articulated Antique Folk Art Sculpture collection Jim Linderman

19th Century Mexican Coconut Shell Carving Likely Veracruz Prison San Juan de Ulua Folk Art Collection Jim Linderman

19th Century Mexican Coconut Shell Carving Likely Veracruz Prison San Juan de Ulua Collection Jim Linderman 

Honky Tonk Vintage Folk Art Sculpture and the Perils of Packing Collection Jim Linderman

Honky Tonk Vintage Folk Art Sculpture and the Perils of Packing

A piano player pounds the keys…and the carving is in pristine condition because it lived in a bottle for half a century.  The professor was whittled and built inside a one gallon bottle, shown last, which unfortunately, didn't.  Broken in the mail. 

One of the perils of purchasing objects through the mail is that both the collector and the seller have to accept responsibility for transporting or mailing the piece.  In this case, I recommended packing which was not followed by the seller.  I still ended up with a fantastic wood carving in wonderful condition (as nice as the day it was made) but I also ended up with a giant pile of broken glass.

I hate to be responsible for breaking something old.  The seller?  He obviously didn't care as much as I did, but to some things like this are mere product.  Maybe the little fellow here is happy to be out in the fresh air.


Folk Art Sculptural Whimsey (originally constructed in a glass bottle) No Date Collection Jim Linderman

Antique Folk Art Sculpture Standing Figure Northwest 19th Century Inuit (?)

Antique Folk Art Sculpture Standing Figure Northwest 19th Century Inuit (?) 
Collection Jim Linderman

Folk Art Nude (Split Woman's Torso Sculpure) Collection Jim Linderman

Anonymous Circa 1950 Folk Art Nude Carving Sculpture North Carolina Collection Jim Linderman

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Antique Folk Art Jesus Sculpture

Antique Folk Art Jesus Sculpture 11" Tall collection Jim Linderman
(Also posted on old time religion the blog)

Antique Folk Art African-American Puppet Doll Head Sculpture

Antique Folk Art African-American Puppet Doll Head Sculpture  Collection Jim Linderman

Big Carved Folk Art Skull Sculpture collection Jim Linderman

Big Carved Folk Art Skull Sculpture said to be from Louisiana, no date.  Circa 1940?  Garden Tomater from Michigan 2013.   Collection Jim Linderman

Folk Art Sculpture Carving for a HOT DAY collection Jim Linderman

Folk Art Sculpture Carving 

It IS a hot day here.  The Soda Jerk is doing big business.

Good Luck Carved Horseshoe with folks sipping and sitting in the shade.
Circa 1900 Collection Jim Linderman

A Well Dressed Wood Carving Folk Art collection Jim Linderman

 

Well-dressed Well-carved Folk Art Man, 19th Century.  Collection Jim Linderman

Swiveling Nude Man on a Ball in a Cage Sculpture American Folk Art collection Jim Linderman

Folk Art from one piece of wood.  Swiveling man, ball in a cage, wittled with a knife and patience.

Folk Art Whimsey, circa 1920?  Collection Jim Linderman

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Sliding Dead Man in a Box Folk Art Whimsy Coffin Folk Art

 

Slide him in boys.

Hand carved folk art whimsy circa 1920?  Collection Jim Linderman

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A Leggy Pin Up of Wood Folk Art Collection Jim Linderman

Folk art carved long-legged sculpture circa 1940.  Collection Jim Linderman

Antique Folk Art Wooden Carved Doll Collection Jim Linderman

Antique Folk Art Wooden Carved Doll Collection Jim Linderman

Large Folk Art Carved Ball In A Cage Whimsy collection Jim Linderman

What is the secret to carving a ball in a cage?  There isn't one, other than turning off the TV.

Carved Whimsy no date 8" tall  Collection Jim Linderman

Retro Modern Mid Century Design Cat FOLK ART ?

Retro Modern Mid Century Cat FOLK ART ?

Retro Modern Mid Century meets a whittler or amateur woodworker in this pair of folk art cats.  Hilarious.  The form is as familiar as an Eames chair, but these folky felines were apparently made in the basement.   Abstracted American Caticus.

The American Pet Products Association say there are 86.4 million cats in the United States. As you can see from the quick screen grab below, there may be that many sculptures as well.

Pair of handmade (signed) abstracted cat carvings of pine,  circa 1950  Collection Jim Linderman

Big Folk Art Wood Carved Head Sculpture

Carved and painted bust.  Life Size!  Collection Jim Linderman 

Bud Stewart and his Crippled Critters Blood Red Wounded Fishing Lures

This is the true story of an unlikely gruesome genius, flesh hanging off hooks and people dredging a lake.

Bud Stewart has been called Michigan's Legendary Lure Maker (the title of a book as well) and Michigan is proud to claim him as their own. 

Michigan is a state surrounded by water, with even more dotting the interior, and for many fishing is art, skill, hobby and life.  As such, the state tends to bring out the best in carved fishing decoys and lures. 

Oscar Peterson was one carver, and his lovely ice fishing decoys from the 1920s and 1930s regularly sell for thousands of dollars. 

The other was Bud.

Bud's great invention, rather Bud's great concept, was the creation of the wounded lure.  That's right.  Wounded!  What attracts a predator to prey?  The weakest in the pack. The wounded. 

Bud's genius was to create the crippled lure.  His fishing lures were painted in places fish blood red, and often even WEIGHTED to appear wounded.  Bloody messes which would float on an angle, a seemingly easy gulp for a bigger fish.  Some, as this one, even had little plastic trails of blood. 

Bud Stewart's lures were literally killing machines.  Painted with deception in mind.  Trained to hunt.  They came out of the box ready to snare and snag any mouth (or finger) close enough to graze them.  It is said Bud's lures were the last factory made lures which were hand-painted.

Could fish see color? Apparently, although they haven't tested every species.  Do they sense the infirm among their brothers?  Who cares.  Fishing is a combination of superstition and luck.  If a crippled lure catches a fish, it will be used again. 

The lure above is more relic than art.  It was an earner...it provided many a fish dinner for a Michigan family.  Well-used and used well.  Amazingly, it has even been repaired!  Imagine repairing such a tiny, utilitarian object when so many efficient and modern replacements were so readily available.

Later in life, having been recognized by his peers and the collecting community, Stewart continued to make a few lures a year, but then for folk art aficionados as much as for fisherman.  They stayed on tiny pedestals rather than lines, and caught only the attention of other carvers.

Years ago, on a visit to Michigan, and having read about Bud, I went to the area he was best known and asked around to see if any were for sale.  Folks said nope.  I said maybe someone should dredge the lakes to see if any old ones were caught in the weeds.  Folks said they already had.



Bud Stewart Fishing Lure (Injured Minnow) Collection Jim Linderman

Folk Art Sculpture Man with a Bowler c. 1900 Collection Jim Linderman

Man with a Bowler Hat Folk Art Sculpture, 15 inches tall, 27 inches around.  Circa 1900  Collection Jim Linderman

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Stonecutters Cutting Stone Sculptors Who Take Away Real Photo Postcard

When it comes to sculpture, there are those that add and those that take away. Stone cutters are the latter, and perhaps in this case I should say "taketh" away.

It appears the fellows are carving a tombstone or memorial of some type, and I am going to guess for a notable. It also appears the piece was carved under a temporary tent built for the purpose? A mystery.

Enlarge the pictures to see their big whacking hammer on the ground and the equally cryptic message on the inscribed, but unmailed card.

Real Photo Postcards circa 1900? No date. Collection Jim Linderman