Ozark Folk Center

Summer's bounty

2011-08-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite reasons for living in Arkansas, fresh figs on the tree. Add that to fresh black berries, elderberries, peaches, pears, blueberries.... mmmm good eating all summer long.

and, I actually like heat and humidity, but yesterday's record 111 degrees was a bit much for even me.

the sheep and goats are hanging out in the woods, staying quiet, drinking the water we keep fresh and cooler with ice bottles in their troughs and surviving. I hope this heat wave is about to break.

Day Camp - with a twist

2011-07-20T04:37:00.000-07:00

Day campers learn from chandler Jeff Glover how to make twisted bee's wax tapers

School! Spending time in a one-room school house.

Adding their own colors to adamantine tapers.

Giving Whiskey a thank you for pulling the swing.

Tie-dye t-shirts

Adding their own words

Day campers decided the first day on the things that were important to them so that they could all have a good time at camp.

Maddie demonstrates using the recycling baskets.

The formal end of camp photo

End of camp reception with family

Some of the day camp projects

Sharing with family

Everyone displayed their own projects from the week. The fish they caught a Blanchard and the spaghetti dinner the campers prepared from scratch were not on display.

Performing "Down on the Arkansas"

Weaving together

2009-09-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Spinning and weaving are naturally quiet and relaxing, but some fiber artists have a grace that outshines their art.

Martha Laster is one of those rare, wonderful ladies. In her gentle way, she has supported, encouraged and helped many aspiring spinners and weavers.

“It’s hard to put into words,” she said, looking around the Spinning and Weaving Shop. “But this has been the joy of my life the last ten years.”

Martha has always been fascinated with fiber arts, but in the late 1960’s she seemed to be alone in her interest. She couldn’t find any equipment or teachers.

“My husband got a spinning wheel kit out of a farm magazine and built me one,” said Martha.
She taught herself to use the wheel. The first fiber she spun was cotton, considered a challenging fiber by many modern spinners.

“We lived in Mississippi where no one spun,” said Martha. “I got some cotton. It was just ginned, not carded. It was a lesson in patience to learn to spin with it.”

Martha crocheted 18 placemats for her daughter, daughter-in-law and herself with the yarn she spun from that cotton. She kept spinning and learning. She tried other fibers as she found them.

“I was so excited when I got carded wool,” she said. “It was so easy to spin.”

So, she bought her own hand cards and ordered fleece from magazine ads.

“I used to wash all my own fleece,” she said, laughing. Now she purchases already carded or combed wool for some of her spinning. A versatile and talented spinner, Martha said she learned to weave so she would have something else to do with all the yarn she made.

“I came to the Ozark Folk Center when they opened in 1973 and saw weaving,” said Martha. “I knew I had to do it.”

Like many others, the Folk Center continued to draw Martha and her husband back to Mountain View. She loved the community of artists and he wanted to retire in the mountains. That connection gave her a chance to learn to weave.

“I took a class here (at the Ozark Folk Center) in 1996,” said Martha. “I bought publications and joined the (Ozark Fiber Folk) guild. I’ve learned from other weavers. I give them credit for a lot.”

A loose-knit group of fiber artists, the Ozark Fiber Folk Guild hosted its first annual Sheep to Shawl contest last year at the Ozark Folk Center. Martha was one of the spinners on the team that included Dana Shaeffer and Melody Conatser. The shawl they created that day took second place in the competition. More importantly, the contest entertained and intrigued hundreds of visitors. This year’s Sheep to Shawl will be held on October 24.

While Martha’s love of her craft shows in the beauty of the pieces she weaves, it goes far deeper than that.

“It’s a joy”, she said of weaving. “I’d like to carry on tradition and pass it on to young ladies.”

You can visit with Martha or one of the other talented fiber artists in the Spinning and Weaving Cabin at the Ozark Folk Center from 10:00 to 5:00, Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets to the Craft Village are $10.00 for adults and $6.00 for children. For information on spinning or weaving classes or other happenings, visit the web site at www.ozarkfolkcenter.com or call 870-269-3851.

Cowboy Gathering

2009-07-15T06:52:00.001-07:00

Cowboy Poetry Contest
Mountain View, AR – Visitors to the Ozarks see the beautiful scenery and the abundant wild life. They hear music performed out in the open air. Small shops featuring handmade crafts show up around many bends in the road. But one Ozark tradition that is not well known is that of the cattlemen and women.
Cowboys were drawn to the Ozarks in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s by cheap land, low taxes, abundant water and good grass. When they came, they found their neighbors had a rich tradition of songs, “ballets” similar to the cowboy songs and poetry from the West. Famous cowboy balladeers such as Glenn Ohrlin, Jim McElroy and Hubb Willis have called the Stone County Arkansas area home.
In honor of this tradition, and to discover the new cowboy poets of the Ozarks today, the Ozark Folk Center is hosting a Cowboy Poetry Contest on Friday, August 7 at 2:00 p.m. in the White Oak Auditorium. This contest is low-key and fun. Perform your own original poems, or bribe your friends to read your poetry for you. Winners will receive lots of applause and have the chance to perform their poems at the Dutch Oven Cooking Competition on Saturday, August 8.
Both these contests are part of the Cowboy Gathering weekend, which includes performance by cowboy poets in the Craft Village throughout the day on Friday. That evening the Quebe Sisters will be performing in the large theater at the Ozark Folk Center. Tickets to this special concert are $12.00.
On Saturday, August 8, Michael Martin Murphy will be performing at the Ozark Folk Center. Tickets are $25.00 and are selling fast.
For information or to enter either the Cowboy Poetry Contest or the Dutch Oven Cooking Competition, call the Ozark Folk Center at 870-269-3851.

Meet Sharon Fernimen, basket weaver

2009-07-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

When I needed a unique basket to hold yarn for my wall loom, I knew exactly where to go. Sharon Fernimen watched my hands as I described what I needed.
“It has to be rectangular, with a handle on the back,” I said, “and about this big.”
Sharon measured my hand spread and jotted a few notes. Two weeks later, I had the perfect basket for my weaving studio.
That ability to work out ideas, patterns and designs serves her well at the basket maker at the Ozark Folk Center. Sharon has been interested in crafts most of her life. She taught herself crochet and cross stitch early on. She worked for eight years at the Flat Creek Dulcimer and Craft Shop, in Hardy, Arkansas.
When her husband, Bruce, retired, his goal was to live somewhere he could ride out into the forest from his back door. Sharon’s goal was to work at the Ozark Folk Center. So, they moved from Hardy to Big Flat. Now Bruce can ride his mule Tulip right down to the river and continue on for days and Sharon spends her days visiting with folks and weaving baskets.
“Some of the baskets I’ve made so many of,” she said, “I don’t have to think.” Her hands are constantly working but her mind is free to think about new designs and projects. When the cook at the Country Kitchen complained about the flies getting on the biscuits, Sharon designed a plate cover that has become a best seller. It also keeps the biscuits safe in the Kitchen.
Sharon’s basket weaving is based on tradition. She originally learned the craft as a Committee of 100 apprentice at the Folk Center and studied with Julie Stow for 6 weeks.
“Some of the patterns I use are old traditional ones,” she said. “And some are my own.”
Sharon likes to develop a new style or two of basket each winter during the off season. She watches trends in kitchen and house wares and keeps an eye on popular colors.
“I get my color combinations from quilts,” Sharon explains. “I go to the Quilt Show each year and always come up with new ideas.”
Sharon dyes all her own basket reed, because you can’t buy the colors she uses. Each batch comes out different, so many of her baskets are one-of-a-kind.
Lately, in addition to plate covers and market baskets, Sharon has been weaving a lot of egg baskets. These big kidney shaped baskets are great for a wide variety of uses and they make eye-catching displays. When her granddaughters Shelby and Charlotte came to visit this summer they both decided they needed to learn how to make egg baskets. They both finished the week with beautiful baskets.

Sharon’s way of understanding and breaking a process into its parts also makes her an excellent teacher. Her Pine Needle Basket class fills up quickly each year and many of her students return to make more elaborate and advanced creations. She also teaches several reed basket weaving classes during the year and is always happy to teach students One-on-One classes at a time that works for them. Like any true teacher, Sharon enjoys watching her students learn.
“I love to see that look on their faces,” Sharon said, smiling. “When they realize that they made something beautiful, and they made it themselves. That makes it all worthwhile.”
Visit Sharon in the Basket Shop at the Ozark Folk Center Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 to 5:00. Tickets are $10.00 for adults and $6.00 for children. For class information call 870-269-3851 or visit the web site at www.ozarkfolkcenter.com.

Handcrafted Evening in the Park

2009-07-06T07:31:00.000-07:00

This Friday, July 10, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. spend a relaxing evening strolling gardens and visiting with crafters at the Ozark Folk Center in the Craft Village. Admission to the Craft Village is free for this special evening.

More than 15 individual craft shops will be open that evening. Visit with the crafters as they work on their items. Talk with them about how they learned their craft and where they find their inspiration. Shop for children’s toys, fine jewelry, corn husk dolls, handmade baskets, art from Mountain View artists, hand forged ironwork, kitchen mixes and recipe books, old-fashioned soap, unique photographs, knives, pottery, dresses, men’s clothing, quilts, weavings, yarns, rugs, leather belts and wallets and much much more.

The Ozark Folk Center State Park is located at 1032 Park Avenue in Mountain View. Follow the signs to the Ozark Folk Center State Park, less than a mile from the Courthouse Square. Park in the lower lot and take the park shuttle to the village gate at the top of the hill.

The Craft Village at the Ozark Folk Center State Park is regularly open Wednesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Ozark Folk Center Craft Village is $10.00 for adults or $6.00 for children 6-12. Season passes to the park which include the regular evening concerts and the craft village are only $65.00 for adults and $30.00 for children. Call 870-269-3851 or visit www.ozarkfolkcenter.com for information

Meet the Folks - Tom Weir

2009-07-06T07:20:00.000-07:00

Crossing the threshold into the Knife Shop at the Ozark Folk Center takes you out of today’s world. Civil War uniforms and Indian leathers hang on the wall. Glass cases hold knives that date from the 1700’s on up to ones made yesterday. Strange animals, antlers and skulls are tucked into crannies.

It might be a bit spooky, if it wasn’t for the broad grin on the face behind the counter. Tom Weir looks like a mountain man, just come in from his cabin on the creek. In fact, he is, in many ways, and that’s the name of his business – On the Creek.

“I was looking for a catchy phrase, and I live on the creek,” said Tom simply.
Tom was born in northeastern Arkansas and grew up on a farm in Lawrence County. His daddy’s folks were from the eastern Ozarks. Every Sunday his daddy would load up the kids in the car and say, “We’re going to the hills.”

Those hills became a part of Tom. “I like hardwood trees and streams better than cotton fields and rice fields.”

Involved in Rendezvous since the 1970’s, Tom made a few basic knives for his own use. He also started coming to Mountain View in the 70’s and here he met Jack Thomas, the knife maker at the Ozark Folk Center.

“I guess I paid a little more attention than I thought I was,” said Tom, laughing.
While he only gets to Rendezvous on occasion now and doesn’t get to shoot black powder as much as he’d like to, Tom does spend nearly every day making knives. He makes all kinds of useful knives - from twisted railroad spike novelties to beautiful Damascus bladed skinners.

“I make knives to be used and I try to put a little bit of me in each knife,” he said. “Each knife has its own personality. I have lots of blanks for the basic shapes and I try not to change anything, unless I can make it better. But each knife comes out different. Some are right-handed and some are left-handed.”

Tom’s favorite knife to make is a medium skinner. He doesn’t really like to make the big, showy knives, though he will make a few of them, because folks want them. The medium to small knives are more useful for hunting and skinning. For handles he uses some antler and his favorite woods are maple and bodark, also called Osage Orange.
“Osage Orange is a good wood,” explained Tom. “You can’t hurt it.”

When he has some time, Tom works beautiful scrimshaw scenes onto some of his bone and ivory (old piano keys) handles. Etched carvings of mountains with elk or wolves beautifully match the finely polished blades of these unique knives.

“There’s Jack again,” Tom reminisces fondly. “He started me doing scrimshaw on powder horns. You know the horn is all hair, with little ridges running the length. If you can do scrimshaw on horn, you can do it on anything.”

While Tom’s love of knife making draws him into the Knife Shop on an almost daily basis, he keeps grumbling about wanting to take some time off.

“The bucket’s gotta be real big,” he said, referring to the movie Bucket List, “’cause there’s a lotta things I want to do.”

Visit with Tom Weir in the Knife Shop at the Ozark Folk Center from 10:00 to 5:00, Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets to the Craft Village are $10.00 for adults, $6.00 for children from 6 to 12, children under 6 are free. Combination tickets which include the Craft Village and the evening music show are $17.50 for adults and $8.25 for children.

Come learn to cook biscuits

2009-06-29T12:04:00.000-07:00

Biscuit Class with Alice Chambers
July 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Mountain View, AR - Have you always wanted to learn a method to make light, flakey biscuits that doesn’t start with cracking a cardboard tube?
Join Alice Chambers, baker extraordinaire, to learn how to make the best old-fashioned biscuits in the Ozarks. Alice has been baking biscuits all her life. Her family has a tradition of different types of biscuits. Alice is best known for her Angel Biscuits. She and her sister alternate who gets to take these light, fluffy delights to family gatherings. She smiles and refuses to answer when asked whose biscuits are best.
The Biscuit Making Class will begin at 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 24 and finish at about 1:00 p.m. Students will learn the secrets of making biscuits on the wood stove in the Country Kitchen. These methods translate easily into the modern world with gas and electric ovens.
Every student will be able to get their hands into the biscuit making process and make, eat and take home the results. Students will get copies of Alice’s old family biscuit recipes to keep.
Registration deadline for this class is July 20. The class costs $30.00, which included your craft village admission. A non-refundable deposit of $10.00 will secure your spot in this class. For more information, call 870-269-3851 or email Jeanette.larson@arkansas.gov.

Meet Steve Folkers

2009-06-29T11:59:00.001-07:00

Watching Steve Folkers explain carving spoons is like watching a dancer interpret trees in the breeze.
“When I started this one it was straight,” said Steve, holding his forearm up next to a green wood, roughed-out spoon. “But there was a knot hidden in it and as it started to dry it twisted.”
He performs an elaborate twist and curve with his arm as he raises the spoon for emphasis. The young man and his grandfather watch, entranced. Steve dances his way through showing the different ways spoons can be roughed out of tree limbs, his upper body swaying back and forth and his arms adding the twists and curves.
“I do most of the work with a draw knife,” Steve said, demonstrating on a walnut spoon he clamps into his shaving horse. He roughs out the spoons in green wood, and then he lets them dry and cure before starting the finishing and polishing. The visitor asks if the spoons will stay the same shape and size when finished. Steve explains that when they are cured, dried, sanded and oiled, they are finished. With reasonable care, they will stay the same shape for lifetimes.
“But do you need to keep them separate?” continues the visitor. “Like keep them for special uses?”
Steve’s eyes twinkle and he smiles. Picking up two spoons, he said, “Like saving this one for lasagna and this one for soup?”
Wood has always been a part of Steve’s life. He remembers working at home with his dad, even before he was old enough to go to school. He took wood shop in Junior High School and in college he took classes in design and a few semesters of pottery. He’s been working with raw wood since 1973, when he and his wife Arlone moved to their land above the town of Mountain View, Arkansas.
“My wood working comes from being born on Earth,” said Steve. “Living in the woods, breathing wood -and when you’ve got no money, you learn to make things with what you’ve got.”

His professional woodworking started with spoon carving. He was working in Thomas Rustic Cabins, a rustic furniture shop in Mountain View and taking home the band saw scraps to burn as fire wood. Arlone started doing craft shows with her weavings. When he was helping her with the craft shows, he saw wooden spoons selling for $30 to $40 each. Steve started carving spoons out of the wood scraps.
Steve started at the Folk Center working with long-time friend Owen Rein in the furniture shop. The Folk Center was open 7-days-a-week then and Owen needed a couple days off.
“Zach, our eldest boy worked for him first,” explained Steve, “and I had drop spindles and looms in the Gift Shop.”
Once Steve began working at the Folk Center, he filled in for several shops. He worked at the Foot Lathe and in the Furniture Shop before he was moved into the Cooper Shop. There he was given a Committee of 100 apprenticeship with Keith Bowman to learn white coopering.
“White coopering includes anything that goes with dairying,” explains Steve. “Not just the churns and buckets, but also dough bowls, spoons, axe handles.”
He picks up an axe that was lying next to his carving bench and looks introspective. He holds the axe up and then lays it down on the bench, rubbing his hand along the smooth handle.
“That’s how this all really started,” he muses, looking around the Cooper Shop. “Moving into the woods and learning to keep handles on hoes.”
Steve Folkers was awarded “Crafter of the Year” at the Ozark Folk Center in 2008. You can visit with Steve and his wood working companions in the Ozark Folk Center Cooper Shop from 10:00 to 5:00, Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets to the Craft Village are $10.00 for adults, $6.00 for children from 6 to 12, children under 6 are free. Combination tickets which include the Craft Village and the evening music show are $17.50 for adults and $8.25 for children.

New ideas for a Stay-cation summer

2009-05-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,
We're rolling right in the the new season at the Ozark Folk Center. Actually, I don't know where March, April and May have gone...
But - we have some great new ideas for June. We're seeing more people from Arkansas and Missouri than we have in the past. People seem to be looking closer to home for their leisure time this year. With that in mind, we've planned a few short events for the summer.
On Friday, June 12, we'll be having a Handcrafted Evening in the Park from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Admission to the craft village is free for the evening, so come on by and visit with the crafters in their shops. Enjoy the evening air, nibble some snacks and have a chance to talk with crafters and shop in the relaxing atmosphere.

Meet the Folks - Duane Yessak

2008-12-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

It’s a challenge to take a portrait that can tell a story. But a true photographer with a love of people can meet that challenge. Duane Yessak has seen and done many things, but when you visit with him, it doesn’t take too long to realize he is that kind of photographer. His passion is capturing life on film and using his camera to tell stories.

Currently, he’s spending time photographing the construction of a friend’s new log cabin. He’s taken more than 300 photos of the construction, from the breaking of the ground six months ago to the current pictures of the hands of the stone mason setting the rocks for the fireplace.
Duane spent many years as a clerk in a variety of jobs for the US Postal Service in Memphis, Tenn. Over the years his hobby as a photographer became known and he began taking pictures for the Postal Service. Eventually he earned a “semi-promotion” to work full time as the photographer. Two assignments that he remembers fondly are taking pictures of the mail sorting room at the IRS and the mail delivery system for the headquarters of the Holiday Inns.
“When I started at the Post Office in 1960, they were still working mail like 100 years ago, sorting everything by hand,” he said, remembering. Over the next several decades the mail delivery system became more mechanized and streamlined. “If I wasn’t a photographer, I’d never get to see the inside of the business world.”
Duane’s camera has taken him inside many different worlds.
Photography first brought Duane to Mountain View. He was part of the TriCities Photo Club in 1988. On a whim, they decided to come to Beanfest and take pictures. They had no idea what the event was about and certainly did not realize that you couldn’t get a place to stay that weekend. Eventually, they did find a place to stay, and, when the rest of the photographers went home, Duane and his wife Bonnie stayed on for an extra few days in Mountain View.
“We used to go to the Smokies,” said Duane, “but it was getting too crowded. We loved the area, the music and the people around Mountain View.”
They visited several more times but had no thoughts of moving. Duane became Jimmy Driftwood’s official photographer in 1988 and was until Jimmie passed away in 1998. He would often travel to Mountain View to take pictures.
Then on July 4th 1990, a series of events pulled Duane and Bonnie into settling here. During a 5 day visit, when they were looking at a piece of land, Bonnie told Duane that if she could live in Mountain View, she’d leave Memphis. Then a local builder offered to sell them his own house for a great price; their daughter and son-in-law moved to Memphis and needed a home; and the Post Office offered Duane a buyout. On August 31, 1990, Duane retired and they moved to Mountain View.
Duane’s ability to talk and his love of people led him to roam the mountains with his camera and to go many places most people would be afraid to venture. Even in the backwoods, he would go up to the door and admire something about a place and soon he would be taking pictures of people and places that had never been photographed before.
“I have hundreds of pictures of people,” he said. He’s kept duplicates of every shot he took and has tens of thousands of photos in his collections.
Photography led Duane to the Ozark Folk Center, too, where he was originally contracted to take pictures of all the musicians. Then, in 1992, he was asked to photograph the crafters. While he was doing that job, the gunsmith asked him to fill in the gun shop a few days a week. Gun collecting was another one of his hobbies, so Duane went home and asked his wife – “How would you like to get rid of me for a few days a week?”
To Duane’s surprise, Bonnie said, “Boy would I ever.”
Since then, he’s worked in the gun shop and the school house on the craft grounds a few days a week.
They still get back to Memphis occasionally. It’s where their two daughters and 5 of their 6 grandkids live, but Duane is always happy to head home to Mountain View. He and Bonnie refer to the Memphis Bridge as the “stress line.”
“We’ve had lots of good experiences since we’ve been here,” said Duane. “These hills have so many stories.”

Meet the Folks - Bill Standard

2008-12-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

The extraordinary nature of the wood shop at the Ozark Folk Center shows long before you get to the door. The little garden to the side hides carved bears and wood sprites amid the lush vegetables. Petunias drape out over the carved dogwood flowers on the cedar window box. The warm red paint is accented by cheery blue-checked café style curtains. The round sign next to the door holds carved toys and dangles a carved spirit face. The wooden banner across the sign proclaims “Wood Shop.”

“Howdy Folks,” booms the big voice as you push open the door. Bubba sits behind the counter in his trademark bib overalls. “C’mon in.”
Once you are in the shop, Bubba will keep you entertained. He has a tourist test to guess where ya’ll are from. He’ll carve your portrait in a toothpick. You can sign his counter or guess what color the tops are when they start to spin. There is a small box full of peppermints on the counter for you to help yourself to a treat. The wood shop is always one of the busiest and happiest shops at the Folk Center.
Once you start looking around the shop, you’ll find lots of Bubba-style fun. There are roll-X’es, wooden X’s with wheels for the fashionable set. They sit next to keychain lights, a match box on a key chain – for those with a more practical disposition. Displayed in and around the entertainment are carved wood works of art. Cedar bird houses with flowers and designs hang over mantle pieces with log cabin scenes. A small Christmas tree displays ornate Santas carved from antique wooden thread spools.
Bill Standard, the man behind the character of Bubba, retired from business in Alaska about eight years ago and moved down to Mountain View with his wife, Melody Miller, to be with her parents. Melody’s family has been in Stone County since the 1830’s.
“Pop brought me to Mountain View,” said Bill. “He was getting up there.”
Bill has always been artistic and has always loved working with wood.
“I carved Donald Duck and Pluto on the stock of my twenty-two (caliber rifle) when I was about 8-years-old,” said Bill, remembering. “I’ve spent most of my life working with wood.”
Switching back from Bill to Bubba, he adds, “I like wood carving because you can bleed on it and it doesn’t ruin it.”
In Alaska, Bill built log cabins, including a couple of his own. He has many fond memories of those cabins and shares stories that include one of a snowy owl raising her babies in the loft of his cabin.
He has other experience with wood, too.
“It takes about 5 cords of wood to make it through the winter in Alaska,” said Bill, talking about heating his cabin. “That’s lots of splitting.”
The Folk Center was a natural connection for Bill, because Melody’s family has worked there for three generations. Her father was the book keeper and her mother, Miz Betty Rae, has worn many hats at the Center. She currently works in the General Store.
Bill apprenticed with wood carver Keith Bowman and began working in the wood shop shortly after they moved to Mountain View. He did a little bit of moving around in the craft houses, but the wood shop is truly Bubba’s home.
“It amazes me the talents and skills here at the Folk Center,” said Bill. “My favorite thing is the people – and the donkeys,” he adds as an afterthought, handing me a few peppermints to take to Whiskey and Tango.

Meet the Folks - Gail Lewis, seamstress

2008-12-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

Harper’s Bazar and The Ladies World fashion magazines from the late 1800’s lay open on the big table in the back of the Dress Shop. Formal portraits of families from just after the Civil War are next to them in neat order. Gail Lewis is studying sleeve styles on ladies dresses from that period.
“Look how they cut them on the curve,” she points to a sleeve. “They end up on the bias.”
She gestures to a drawing in the magazine and shows how tight fashionable sleeves were fitted in those days. Sleeves fit so tight that the fabric was cut with a bend in it. Otherwise the ladies would not have been able to move their arms.
Gail is great at studying these old pictures and antique clothing from the Ozark Folk Center’s collection and then using those examples in creating the clothes she sells in the gift shop. She has been sewing all her life and worked her way through college doing alterations. Now she prefers clothing design and making her prairie-style “Pasthymes Fashions.”
Gail gets her inspiration from many sources.
“Tom (Weir) brought me a shirt and I made one like it,” she said. “He loved the practice one and wanted to buy it, even though I’ve made others. I’m very good at copying. My dad was too. I can look at something and duplicate it.”
Gail has always loved the feeling of things from the late 18 and early 1900’s. She worked for a while in a museum and felt right at home the first time she visited the Dress Shop at the Ozark Folk Center. She and her husband Dan were in the process of moving to Mountain View during Folk Festival a few years ago. They had read about the Folk Center online and decided to take a break from hauling boxes to go see what the Center was all about.
“I made a beeline for the Dress Shop,” said Gail, smiling. She visited for a bit and looked at the antique clothing. In the conversation with Alma Lee Sutterfield, who was watching the shop that day, Gail shared that she was an accomplished seamstress. “Alma Lee said that we had a job opening, and here I am.”
Music was a big part of what drew Gail and Dan to Mountain View from Florida. Gail is also a talented musician who plays fiddle, mountain dulcimer, guitar and some mandolin. She credits her Junior High viola teacher, Mr. Bodger with fostering her love of music and fondly remembers her grandmother singing and performing. Gail loves to play in jam sessions and is an evening dancer on the Folk Center stage.
“This is a good place to be,” said Gail.

Ever heard the story of sweeping beauty?

2008-05-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

I've asked several kids that over the past couple weeks.

Of course, none of them had... they corrected me quickly. "It's SLEEPING beauty!"

"No," I'd say. "It's definitely sweeping beauty. And she was using a hearth broom like that one or that one (imagine me pointing to the brooms hanging on the wall) to sweep out the fireplace and that's where the cinders came from. The cinders are what gave her her nickname, Cinderella, but she was really a sweeping beauty."

I get a lot of groans and a few chuckles. That's OK. I was working to engage and I think I did... let's check.

"Now," I ask, "who wants to sweep?"

A cacophony of "I do"s and a forest of waving hands....

As I watch the kids sweep a small pile of sand and old coffee grounds (easy to see) around the floor of the broom squire's cottage, I know I engaged them... just for a second... you might say I swept them off their feet.

Welcome Folks

2008-04-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

This is the new blog of the Ozark Folk Center. We combine a unique mix of Ozark Folk Music, traditional Ozark Mountain Crafts, a fantastic organic Heritage Herb Garden,
good old fashioned southern cooking at the Skillet Restaurant, a comfortable place to rest at the Dry Creek Lodge. gorgeous trails to hike, birds to watch and so much more, all in an Arkansas State Park!

The pictures are of Tina Marie and Kathleen working on the Butterfly Hill Garden. Tina's gardens are so special. Not only are they a treat for the eye, like most gardens, but they delight all the senses. Just stroll along the paths and smell how the herb and flower scents intermingle. Listen as the birds and insects work busily in the organic gardens. Ask Tina and she'll happily allow you to taste herbs and greens that are planted among the flowers. The gardens are worth coming to the Folk Center, all by themselves.

But, the birds are not the only music at the Ozark Folk Center. Pickin' and fiddlin' is most often goin' on up on the outdoor stage, next to the knife maker's shop. Sometimes, the instrument makers will step outside their shop to test the strings on the newest dulcimer. Many of the artisans are musicians, so song accompanies the work of their hands.

There are 22 craft houses scattered throughout the Ozark Folk Center craft village. Follow the paths to visit with artisans who are more than happy to show you how they create brooms the old-fashioned way by hand tying them, or spin yarn from sheep's wool (some days the sheep are right there next to the Spinning and Weaving house) or carve a wooden spoon in the cooper's shed or make soap over a fire in a big cast iron kettle.

We are in Mountain View, Arkansas. Visit the Ozark Folk Center web site for more information, or just follow the map and come on out to visit. See you soon!