Black Sheep Gallery - Folk, Outsider and Self-taught Art

Happy summer everyone!

Bradford Naugler's No Break Down fiddling Mountie in the image on our web site is over 6 feet tall. Bradford made the Mountie in 1999 because of the turn of the century concerns that computers wouldn't make the changeover, and everything would break down. The Mountie will be part of the Folk Art Society of Nova Scotia pop-up Exhibition of Folk Art in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia from July 14th to August 11th, 2024. The exhibition takes place in the Silver Building at 184 Lincoln Street, Lunenburg, and we invite everyone in the area to visit it. It is the second year and last year's pop-up exhibition got great reviews and was well attended. The Mountie will be available for sale after the exhibition. .

Scott Higgins made Circus Time in 1988, two years after he started carving at the age of 18. He was young for a folk artist but his work fit neatly in shows with Joe Norris and other "first wave" artists, and he was included in shows at Mira Goddard Gallery in Toronto and Houston North in Lunenburg. The circus theme was repeated in later works by Scott but this one is my favorite. The detail and bright colours capture the flavour of one of the side shows at the local travelling fair. The patina from 36 years of aging only adds to the piece.

Leo Naugler always surprised us when we visited his studio beside his parent's home in Italy Cross. Sometimes we would find a flock of brightly coloured birds or he would be waiting with a big metal flying pig. We snapped a picture of that moment and it made it into Ray Cronin's book Nova Scotia Folk Art; An Illustrated Guide, published earlier this year. As with many folk and outsider artists, Leo was fond of incorporating found objects in his work. In this case the found object is the work. During his metal period we were delighted to find this Vice Grips Fish. So delightful!

Ransford Naugler, Leo's brother, lived right across the road from Leo and his parent's home. The first time we visited Leo in Italy Cross in 1990, he had told Ransford we were dropping by and Ransford put a large 6-foot Mountie (which you can see on our web site) in front of his house. We think we purchased Ransford's first Mountie that day. It’s hard to believe it was almost 35 years ago. Ransford is represented in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, The Canadian Museum of History, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and his has work featured at The Canadian Consulate in Boston, Mass., and the personal collection of the Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, 26th Governor General of Canada. Our red bug is just a small treasure from his body of work.

The Barry Colpitts Lobster Chair has been lighting up the gallery since it arrived a few weeks ago from a collection in Ontario. It was made in 2012, (it is unusual for Barry to date his work), and it is in excellent condition. At a height of 35" it is smaller than most of his chairs but that makes it easier to place in your home and add a splash of colour and fun to your decor. Barry's whirlygigs are enjoying our windy weather. You can drop by to see them most days. We hope to add more videos of them on our Instagram page later this summer.

Elmer Killen from Cooks Brook, also featured in Ray Cronin's recent book, Nova Scotia Folk Art; An Illustrated Guide, often carved musicians and dancers. Nova Scotia is a province with great musical traditions. Even today in rural Nova Scotia we attend events with bands, choirs and dances. The Man With Guitar by Elmer is so familiar. This is very likely a fellow that Elmer saw preform at a local event. The faces on Elmer's carved people are expressive and unique. Watch for our upcoming post on Instagram titled "The Many Faces of Elmer Killen".

We are also featuring two folk art birds this month. Sorry Victoria! Walter Myette left us at the age of 99 in 1999 but he left a small trail of lovely birds. The robin has the string wrapped legs which make them so identifiable as Walter's work. We purchased this little fellow directly from Walter the year he passed away.

The other bird is a yellow rooster by Jean Marc Poirier. His work has started to gain favour with collectors since he became inactive almost a decade ago.

Be safe everyone.

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