There are many definitions of folk art. Regan Tausch, painter from Bayville, NY, subscribes to the one identifying folk art as self-taught.
Princess by Regan Tausch Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Regan was drawing quick sketches already in school, where her classmates used to line up for her pencil doodles of horses, castles, and princesses. The three remained recurring topics until this day, later joined in by houses, other animals, angels, hot air balloons, snow scenes, etc.
Cows in the Field by Regan Tausch Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
Art teachers in the very few art classes she ever took, Drawing 101, Painting 101, were not able to convert Regan's style to the ones they taught. All she retained in her art she had learned on her own. Regan chose acrylic on canvas as her medium, found her favorite brushes (due to a lot of details in her work she goes through a lot brushes with very fine tips), and continued on experimenting and discovering easier ways to convey what she imagined.
Detail of Sea scene by Regan Tausch Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
This is not to say she was immune to external influences. Regan was impressed by the charming works of folk artist Cate Mandigo, among others. She liked various traditional crafts and, as a stay at home mom, made ornaments, stuffed bears, dinosaurs, and dolls for her children. Some are still in her possession. Quilting was particularly significant for her artistic development, she now treats some of the areas in her paintings as patches of fabric.
There is peace, joy, tranquility, and hope in her paintings. There is no conflict in them of any kind. They make viewers happy. They make Regan happy. She is content with her current style and considers herself blessed as an artist. This is a wonderful place to be!
Asked how such an idyll could be improved, Regan painted yet another picture of perfect happiness - an art studio with live music jamming in the background (Regan is an amateur guitarist/singer and occasionally performs in public), and a small cafe on premises.
With great sadness we inform you of the sudden passing of our friend and colleague, Mike Denaro.
Many of you have met Mike at the Introduction to Wood Carving or the Artist Appreciation Day events and remember him as a talented wood carver with a lively personality and a great sense of humor. Mike considered himself a folk artist and pursued various crafts to a great success.
Mike granted us an interview, Mike Denaro, wood carver, and allowed us to film him a few weeks back.
Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Mike's family.
Services will be held at Mother Teresa Tribute Center at 123 Ronkonkoma Avenue, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY, on Thursday, April 21st at 12 noon.
Mike Denaro of Oyster Bay considers himself a folk artist. Carving is not his only artistic form of expression; Mike also does floor cloth, stained glass, and plays fiddle in his free time.
Mike, a second grade teacher, is a trained horticulturalist and confirmed nature lover. He walks in the woods at least once a week; couple of times a year he joins the organized trips of the Appalachian Mountain Club, the oldest conservation club in America, as a backpack leader.
An avid fishermen, he was not willing to shell out a large amounts of money on fishing decoys; got himself a piece of wood and a knife and carved his first decoy. Eventually his ice fishing decoys won prizes at juried shows. There is a science to making ice fishing decoys - lead is inserted into the belly to keep the wooden decoy fully immersed; it must sit in water horizontally like a live fish would.
Photo by Ewa Rumprecht
In the years that followed Mike's subjects varied from Americana, Christmas ornaments, fiddles to walking sticks.
He uses mostly basswood, but also butternut, dogwood, mountain laurel, and Eastern red cedar if he finds it during his rambles. He likes wormy wood, he feels it has more character. Mike applies colors rather sparingly and washes it out a lot to allow the grain to show a bit. The final coat is of floor wax, clearer or darker depending on the piece. In general, he prefers matted look; shine on the handles of his walking sticks comes from buffing the wax.
With the exception of a band saw to cut wood, all carving is done by hand. Mike prefers to work with knives over gouges which, technically speaking, makes his art whittling and not carving. Whatever the technicalities, the end results are captivating.
You will get a chance to meet Mike at the store on Saturday, March 12th, between 10 am and 12:30 pm, when he will be one of the instructors at the Introduction to Wood Carving event.
