Art – Page 3 – Ephemerascenti

Kentucky Folk Artist Jim Lewis Mermaid Carved Sculptures

jim lewis mermaid sculpture

jimLewisM2-b-5852

jim lewis mermaid sculpture

jimLewisM1-b-5844

One of an extended family of well known, and collected folk art carvers from rural Kentucky, Jim Lewis joined his brothers and cousins, including Junior Lewis and Tim Lewis. The work of Minnie Adkins, and the late Garland Adkins, highly regarded regional folk artists, inspired Jim Lewis to begin carving. He had worked as a heavy equipment operator before working exclusively on his art, working in basswood, as well as maple for his canes. We attended events including the sorghum festival and the annual “Day in the Country.” We purchased several of Jim Lewis’s canes and other sculptural work, including this early mermaid. Collectors of this genre of work recognize the importance of seminal work such as this mermaid. Early work, we feel is most inspired, most original. These pieces are signed and dated 1993 and 1994. His more recent work is sold at regional galleries. His work has been displayed ” nationally and internationally” including the Museum of American Folk Art and is sometimes available at the gallery at the Kentucky Folk Art Center in Morehead, Kentucky.

Steam Punk Raku Reptile or Dragon Egg Candle Holders

These unusual, original, artist made candle holders capture the spirit of steam punk’s SCI-FI fantasy. Crackled raku technique eggs and reptilian or dragon foot bases. A morph of the artistic and the functional, these are beautifully designed and rendered. They were originally purchased at the Columbus Arts Festival and given to us as gifts. Never used, that makes them perfect to purchase for yourself or for a gift. They have a blackish felt applied over the bottoms so they won’t slip, slide, or scratch any surface.

Measurements: 5.75″ tall x 3″ wide x 3.5″ deep

Vintage Carved Wood Mexican Religious Folk Art Cross Crucifix

Mexican Religious Folk Art Cross Crucifix

Our collection contains dozens of old vintage Mexican masks and other ethnographic art mostly from Guerrero, Mexico. Many of the masks and other ethnographic artifacts were purchased at the Ohio Ethnographic gallery in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1988, curiously; known for the selectivity of the work they showed and offered. This vintage wood crucifix has the original lime based paint and nails, some paint has worn away with age. It has a hairline crack in the green decorative piece, as depicted. Otherwise, it is a beautiful old example of the carving style of this geographical area of Mexico. Cheaper, more recent work from Guerrero, and Oaxaca, and Michoaca may be available elsewhere however, the tourist industry is resulting in production methods and stylization diminishing both the overall quality including character and value.

Measurements: 24″ x 15″ x 8″

Antique Handmade Cross Assemblage from Ecuador

We purchased this beautiful cross at an antique dealer’s booth in Cincinnati in the middle 80s. It appears to be an old wooden cross that was repurposed for a handmade crucifix assemblage. The dealer purchased it while in Ecuador years before our purchase. The assemblage is quite unique. The original cross and base are very old, wooden. There appears to be a previous coating of a silvery metallic guilding. Much, but not all of this is worn away revealing much of the wood. Someone, prior to the dealer’s purchase, applied a paper image of Christ on the cross to the front of the cross. This is the condition it was in at the time of its discovery at the antique mall in Cincinnati. There is an old nail driven through the bottom of the base which adjoins the cross. The assemblage and its lovely patina make this an especially interesting cultural and historical relic.

Measurements: 9″ x 4.5″ x 3″ (Base 2.75″ x 3″)

Vintage Virgin of Guadalupe Handmade Assembled Religious Artifact from Ecuador

We purchased this beautiful artifact at an antique dealer’s booth in Cincinnati in the middle 80s. It is a handmade assemblage the dealer purchased while in Ecuador years before its sale. As an assemblage, each element carries special meaning and spirit. The back comprised of wood contains some tiny holes inhabited, long ago, by some burrowing insect. There is also a bent nail from which it was probably originally hung on a wall; from which a raffia-like cord is strung, perhaps for a later use? The base is the means by which we have displayed it for, now, decades. The front of the wood is wrapped with a very old piece of paper on which it is printed “PULIVITIN” ? The Virgin, behind glass, is a printed piece on which the maker has applied several reflective cutout shapes.The frame is painted the same color as the VIrgin’s robe. There is an old nail which juts out from base as an anchoring device. It exudes such adoration, it conveys significant cultural and historical interest.

Measurements: 9.5″ x 4.5″ x 1″ (Base 2.5″ deep)

Vintage Carved and Painted Figures of a Man and Woman

We discovered this wonderful pair of figures at the Heartland Antique Show in Richmond, Indiana in the middle 1990s. They had been brought to this nationally recognized show by a antique dealer from Iowa. She did not know the figures provenance but said she believed them to be from the late 30s to early 40s. They are delicate and beautifully carved with great skill exhibited in technique. The attire is well articulated, the man holds a hat behind his back. The hat must have been broken at some stage as it had been carefully glued together at the time of our purchase. The woman’s shoes have some loss of the black paint. She is also missing what we believe must have been a basket which rested upon her left hip. There is a small peg which juts from her hip, some absence of paint makes it apparent something had been applied and then painted. Her flaxen hair and some of her facial features have been sculpted from a composite material. Perhaps glue and sawdust? Both the male and female figure stand on their original stained bases, each approximately 4″ x 4.5″ x .5″ tall. The figures each stand approximately 10″ tall on their bases. Scribed in pencil on the bottom of the male figure’s base is “Seale,” nothing further was discovered about their origin.

Nels Johnson Neon Photographs

Dairy Queen photograph
One of the skills we possess is the creation of neon tubing for art and signage. We saw these photos back in the early 80s displayed at an outdoor art market outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. The juried show was and still is titled “Summer Fair” attracting local, regional, as well as nationally known artists creating in various media. We purchased two photographs by Nels Johnson from Florida who travels to and from similar shows displaying and selling his photography. He has one awards for his work some of which depict beautiful natural settings, some provide a nostalgic look at architecture and signage such as those we purchased. One is a color photograph of a Dairy Queen in Charlotte, North Carolina shot in the 70s. The neon and other temporary ephemeral advertisements for ice cream and fast food specialties caught our eyes. the other is This is a color photograph of a Leon’s Frozen Custard stand shot in the 70s. The architecture of the building is set off by the neon tubing. Without the neon the building would lack presence and nostalgia. It is framed with a simple black frame wood and tastefully matted. Perfect for someone’s old fashioned ice cream stand or a shrine to drive up ice cream stands omnipresent in the 50s-70s throughout the U.S.

Carved Heart 3 Dimensional Pictogram Art Card

Can’t find the right words? Can’t quite say it? Want to remind someone just how much you love them any time, any day? They will love this “eye heart U” I love you 3 dimensional pictogram! A lasting reminder! Place it on their desk, on their pillow, or in the kitchen when the time calls for a reminder of your true feelings.

We hand carved each, one of a kind piece, out of poplar wood, front and back, then stained a passionate red. One, of a limited series, it will define your sentiments without saying a word.

Visit our Etsy store to get yours!