Naïve Art/Folk Art

       Helga Hornug

 

As I've work on my latest punchneedle embroidery designs I've been thinking about what 'kind' of 'art' I am drawn to create these days.  My own descriptors would be simple, straightforward, colorful and a little childlike in their forms.  Simplicity of the design seems very important to me, for some reason, and this simple designs definitely work well in punchneedle embroidery.

                                                                                       Marianna Grinblat

After thinking about this for a couple of days, I decided to look up the definition of both folk art and naïve art.  This is what I found:

Naïve art is a classification of art that is often characterized by childlike simplicity in its subject matter and technique.

Folk Art - art originating among the common people of a nation or region and usually reflecting their original culture especially everyday or festive items produced or decorated by unschooled artists.

                                                                          Monica Grace

I am not actually a 'naïve' person in the true sense of the work - after all, at my age if I were naïve it would mean I haven't been paying attention.  But there's no reason why my art can't reflect this tone and style.  In the end I realized that all I want is to to reflect the joy that I get from the work of my hands.  I think that will be enough of a definition for me.

"It is well for heart to be naïve and the mind not to be." - Anatole France