Contrariwise ramblings

I've always enjoyed folk sculpture. It's just someting about the naivete and whimsy in the pieces that makes me smile. Yesterday I stumbled upon a new seller in Etsy whose amazing folk sculptures brought a smile to my face.

His shop is called Crescent Hill Designs and this is what he says about himself in his profile:

I am a self-taught artist from Nacogdoches, TX, drawing inspiration from such great artistic minds as Tim Burton, the great animators of Aardmon Animations (Wallace and Grommit), and anything ranging from childhood naustalgia to the mystery of the unknown. Anyway, I feel that I have always been an artist at heart, but my passion for it really began to bloom shortly after my highschool graduation. Before I graduated I preferred acrylic painting to anything else, but now I have settled into the joys of sculpting from polymer clay and paper mache. I can't imagine a life with its absence.

Hmm, folk sculpture influenced by Tim Burton. Maybe that's why his sculptures struck me as being so interesting.

This one on the left is called Cat and the Fiddle. I think this one is my favorite.

I love the almost maniacal grin ( I think I can see the Tim Burton influence coming through here), the way his whiskers have become a moustache, and all the wonderful details. This kitty is made from polymer clay, wire, metal, and wood, and is painted with acrylic paint, varnished, and coated with sealer.


The "Sunday Pendler is a long-legged chick enjoying a peacefull sunday ride on his unicycle. The detail, once again, is remarkable. I haven't worked in polymer clay, but I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to make the unicycle in this medium. The chick reminds me of those made with antique chocolate molds. (Have you ever seen them? Most of the molds were made in the late 1800s and, because they are so unique and detailed, have been recently used as molds for chalkware figuringes. )



The little green fellow on the left is called "Frog Hair Tea". There's got to be a story behind that name. (I don't know where the name came from. But maybe it's because frog's hair is so fine you can't "see" it. In other words it's so fine as to be non-existent. Uh oh. I'm rambling again.) But look at his face! What a whimsical almost bemused expression he has!


Anyway, I thought I would share these sculptures and wish Crescent Hill Designs and Lance Perry, the artist behind these work, the best of luck with his shop.

Go visit them if you have a chance and take a look at some of the other sculptures. I'll bet you'll be amused with them as much as I was.