Earth Day and Folk Art

Enjoy your culture on Earth Day

I always put Earth Day and folk art together, folk art comes from the Earth. We look at nature and take something from it and creatively make it ours. A bird singing is a new tune for a song, a fallen branch is made into a beautiful carved object, a piece of refuse becomes a new creation of use and beauty. This art comes from the soul of a person. It is a way to uniquely express ourselves. Every culture has a form of folk art, music, dancing and poetry.

My introduction to folk art came as a child visiting relatives at their farm in Norway during haying season. Everyone was so excited and happy to work in the fields. The entire family helped dry the hay on homemade wooden racks. I was surprised at how adept my aunts were at picking up hay with wooden pitchforks. I vividly remember the rhythmic songs my relatives sang as they worked. My mother told me they were very old folk songs. Some of my aunts would do a little folk dancing, weaving in and out of the drying racks. It was such a joyful working experience.

I observed that my Norwegian family made much of their own equipment, did Rosemaling on their cupboards and dishes, carved beautiful wooden doors and shutters. Whoever played a musical instrument, from a harmonica to a guitar, would play while everyone sang. My family even sang their prayers.

Folk art is something everyone can do. Many times it comes from the roots of your culture. It can be expressed as music, singing, art, crafts, woodworking, painting, or sculpting. Folk art is different from fine art because it comes from the common folk.

Art Ideas

Here are some different & unique expressions of folk art:

Grafitti art
Rap poetry
Velvet painting
Tole painting
Handwork
Your Child's Hand Print Art
Baked Playdough Sculptures
Your child's art work
Painted objects
Cowboy art, music and poetry
Paint by Numbers Paintings

Folk Art for Kids Furniture

Use your child's drawings or paintings to decoupage your child's furniture or any wooden object.

Sand the edges of your child's art piece before you decoupage your item.