Prim Folkart Crow - Sunday 21st September 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Well tomorrow is the day that the kitchen installation begins, we'll make sure the installers arrive ok and then be off, just for the day to enjoy our holiday!

My post this week goes back to the Prim Folkart creations that I mentioned I was working on in my Creative Blog hop post last week. There are two pieces, but they go together, so I wanted to show them  as one.

I know that Primitive Folkart is a bit of a' like it or loathe it type of craft'...and this piece is something very different to what I usually post here!

I first fell for it as a teenager,I really love its honesty and naivety,  but it's not so popular here in the UK, so I don't do too much of it,( or at least I don't post it on here) but for me, Autumn and Christmas are seasons where this type of art form really comes into its own and I wanted to show you what I have created this time.

The Tryptych

First of all the Tryptych, which I painted freehand. I sketched and painted the elongated pumpkin, star and crow. Crows are synonymous with folk art, they are viewed as a spirit animal/guide, with links to luck,  magic, change and also being a trickster...so pretty powerful!

I started with a plain wooden triptych, which I painted in a brown colour chalk paint and then white. I used Annie Sloan paint, because I love it! I then sanded the edges to give it a distressed finish. I drew the star, crow and pumpkin, which I painted with acrylics. When It had dried, I sanded over the pumpkin again. Then I gave the whole piece a coat of Mod Podge gloss to seal.

The sunflowers

I made the sunflowers like this: I used some calico and cut three circles, one of them smaller for the centre. I snipped around the edge of the two larger circles to make the petals, which I painted with yellow acrylic. 

I sewed around the edge of the smaller circle and pulled the thread to draw it in, then stuffed it with some toy stuffing before securing it and adhering it to the rest of the sunflower. Then I painted the centre with Burnt Ember acrylic, leaving some patches for a more rustic look.

Coffee Stain

Before starting the sunflowers I had made a little cup of very strong instant coffee - I used this to paint over the entire sunflower to give it an aged stain. I also painted the leaves on the sunflower with coffee stain.

To finish the sunflowers I added some rusty wire for the stems and made little labels, on which I wrote the words 'Fall' and 'blessings'. I painted these with the coffee too and inked the edges with vintage photo distress ink.

  Now for the crow....

I made the crow from a pattern I've had for quite a while and used in projects before. It's by a Prim designer called Sagebrush and Sassafras  and  is made from calico and once I had sewn it up, I painted it with black acrylic. The wings are pockets, which the flowers are tucked inside.

When the paint was dry, I gave the crow a coat of coffee stain and then brushed the wings and around the eye with  cinnamon. This gives the piece a 'dusty finish...and it smells good!

The flowers are also made from calico and painted with orange acrylic. I also sewed rusty bells to them and the fixed them to the stick to tuck in the pocket. I tied checked ribbon around the crows neck to finish.

I made the sunflower in the same way as the little flowers in the triptych   but a  much larger version and I wrapped a stick with calico, which I painted with ember  paint to make the stem.

The pot is actually mdf - I painted it with acrylic paint, sanded it  and sealed it with Mod Podge, I used outdoor, just in case I ever wanted to use it for an outdoor decoration. I filled the pot with an oasis and twiggy bits before adding the crow and the sunflower. I had a  little sunflower left over from the triptych, so I also added that.

Finally, I made a label and sewed around the edges,. I gave it a coat of coffee stain before inking over the tag and roughing up the edges  to complete the ageing process I  then tied it to the stem with ribbon and added a strip of burlap for decoration.

 Flowers above are attached to a stick and inserted into the wing pocket

  Well I hope you find my delve into Prim Folkart, even if it's not to your taste...it took quite a while to finish but I was happy with the end result,  By the way these pictures were taken in amongst our grapevines, which are looking great at the moment....I'll post some photos later in the week.


I would like to enter this mixed media piece into two challenges:

The brand new challenge at The Mirror Crack'd - theme 'Anything Goes'

and  the September  e-play challenge at Eclectic Paperie - Fall 


Thank you so much for stopping by, I will be back in a day or so with a fun Halloween piece I have made using Artist Trading Blocks


Love and Hugs
Carole X

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