Paper folk art web site provides fairly accurate, black and white, artist renditions or illustrations of historic peasant and folk art designs as well as whimsical of our own creation for young children to print and color. Parents and teachers may use these images for creating lesson plans and other educational purposes.
Topic suggestions are always appreciated.
Peasant art is traditional folk art that people have passed along from one generation to another. As a result, examples of self-taught artistry exist everywhere people have lived. Stone Age pottery has been found decorated with spirals, zigzags, dots, and animals, designs that continue to be common motives in modern folk art.
Animals provide rich heritage and cultural signifigance in folk art. People historically have relied upon animals for food and clothing so it is no suprise that animals would appear in folk art. Peasant art animals include both domestic and wild animals. Usually the animals are those most common to the geographic region in which the artist lives or is most familiar.
Peasant art birds usually have extravagant tails and patterned bodies and most often are shown in full profile to display the decorative features of the species.
Structures such as barns, churches, houses, factories, castles, carousels and windmills are frequent motifs that enhance the theme of the folk art design.
Celestial objects such as the sun, moon and stars may hold great religious and spiritual significance and frequently appear in folk and peasant art.
Folk artists frequently incorporate the cross shape as well as other celestial objects such as the sun, moon and stars to convey religious and spiritual significance.
Without water life cannot exist so it is no suprise that depictions of streams, rivers, lakes and oceans appear in folk art paintings, ornaments, pottery, etc.
Flowery foliage such as tropical vines, morning glories, wisteria, trumpet vines, star jasmine, Aristolochia | Dutchman's pipes, and Passion flowers to name just a few, provide fantastic looking borders and fillers to create spectacular visual effects.
People in folk are often portrayed wearing flowered skirts and jackets and coats, aprons, bonnets and umbrellas.
Geometric shapes can include artistic variations and adaptations of basic circles, squares, triangles, parallelograms, octagons, hexagons, stars, etc., which provide perfect repetitive, filler materials for any folk art creation.
Bees were domesticated by early humans for honey production. Both bees and honey are also valuable for use in folk medicine to treat illnesses such as arthritis.
In most cultures women have traditionally woven, knitted and sewn or embroidered decorative clothing such as bonnets, shawls, skirts and dresses, waistcoats, trowsers, shirts and blouses and the like for their families.
Folk art paintings, stitchery and decorations commonly include some type of lush plants, trees or foliage to complete or fill the landscape.
Some folkart and peasant art images in this site are based upon existing, historical, art works currently on display in national public parks, museums and in out-of-print reference material, datingback at least 100 years or more to avoid infringement of any copyright or intellectual property rights. If you notice an error or an infringement of copyright please let me know and I will make the correction.
