Folk Art! That's My Favorite Kind of Folk Medium!

That's a Simpsons quote, for those of you not in the know.

Today I traipsed down to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Festival for some art of the folky persuasion. The idea is that artists from countries all over the world come here to Santa Fe to sell their wares to greedy Americans, get some exposure and make pretty decent money. According to the festival organizers, exhibitors take home approximately 90% the proceeds, and the average exhibitor earns $15,000. As you can imagine, that's a great deal of money for some of these people, who travel from places like Uzbekistan, Ghana and Laos.

Also, through consultations with volunteers, prices are what Americans would expect to pay for merchandise like this if they bought it here in America. Which is to say, not as cheap as it would be in Uzbekistan, Ghana or Laos.

Aren't these rugs beautiful?

They're handwoven silk. They're made using dyes from things like walnuts, wild herbs and pomegranate juice. They never fade, and you can clean them with water and shampoo. Touching one is like caressing an angel. And a tiny one is $1200. A nice lady asked if she could put something aside for me, and I muttered something about having to scuttle back to my hovel.

It was great just to wander around and look at everything. There are over 150 vendors from 49 countries, so the variety is pretty amazing. Here's some very vibrant hand painted stuff from Poland:

And some lace textiles from Haiti:

I spent way less than I was tempted to, but way more than I should have. I got a couple of paintings from a very nice Cuban woman. Here's a rooster stomping on a town:

And a very brightly-colored villiage:

I like the dog in the doorway.

Here's a pretty Mexican textile I got as well:

I also got some gifts for some lovely people, so you don't get to see pictures of those. I will say, however, that I got several very beautiful things from different vendors from Uzbekistan, so if you ever find yourself there, you should probably locate the nearest market area and look around. And although I can't say for certain, I'm sure that Laos and Ghana have many talented native artists as well.

Yay folk art!