Some of us are collectors, some like to travel, some are cultural explorers.  Almost all of us own some piece of folk art that's special to us for one reason or another.  In this gallery members share some of their pieces and their stories.

AFFA members:  We want to add you to the gallery! 
We just need a brief descriptive text or anecdote (100 words max) and a digital image of you with a favorite piece. The image must measure less than 8" on the longest side and be stored at 72 dpi in a jpg file. Please send it along with your text to Merry Wheaton and put AFFA Member Gallery in the subect line.

If you'd like to be featured, please click on Nancy Townsend's name and put AFFA Artists Among Us in the subject line.

Elayne Lansford - "The Blue Moose" by Luis Pablo. The Blue Moose, made by Luis Pablo of Oaxaca, is probably my finest piece of folk art. I have always loved animals, and have always loved the whimsical in folk art, and this piece has both. On an AFFA sponsored folk art trip to Oaxaca, I met Senor Pablo and saw him begin to carve a piece, and bought the blue moose directly from him. Its stately presence reigns from the top of my refrigerator, and it spreads its blue and yellow energy in the blue and yellow kitchen, the heart of our house.

Mary Paige Huey - Hand woven items from Guatemala and Peru. My interest in folk art began when I started traveling to Pre-Columbian sites and Spanish Colonial areas of Mexico, Central and South America. I am not an avid collector as so many AFFA members are; I do like to bring folk art back from trips to remember the experiences as well as interact with the indigenous people that I encounter.
I never thought I would get to see Machu Picchu but I did have the chance to go to Peru several years ago. I went with the anticipation of seeing the awesome sites of the Incas as well as buying wonderful weavings from the native people. A year later I finally made it to the Highlands of Guatemala, another place I had always wanted to visit. I purchased many colorful hand woven items, some as gifts and some to wear. In the photo I am wearing a jacket that I brought back from Antigua, Guatemala, and the rug hanging behind me is one I bought from a weaver in Aguascalientes, near Machu Picchu.

Merry Wheaton - handcarved batea bowl. I collect Mexican bateas-handcarved trays and bowls-and this is one of my favorites. Just 9" across, it has delicate brushwork showing a parrot perched on grapes, berries or cannon balls, two of which say 1928. That may just be the year the piece was made or it may commemorate the assassination of Alvaro Obregón-the last of the revolutionary generals-who was popular
with labor, liberals and agrarian groups. He was shot 5 times in the face in 1928-just a few months after his second election to the presidency.

Robert (Holly) Hollingsworth - Hard wood African carvings. My primary passion is pre-Columbian art which I began collecting in the late 1960's. But when prices began to skyrocket in the 80's, I became interested in African art, Oceanic art and Mexican folk art. The pieces behind me here are rather old ancestor figures from several African cultures, carved from very hard wood. To me, there is a definite connecting thread that seems to link native art from all cultures throughout the world and I enjoy them all.

Susan Toomey Frost - “San Jose” decorative tiles and pottery from San Antonio and Mexico. Susan Toomey Frost, whose lifetime passion is collecting, is an authority on “San Jose” decorative tiles and pottery from San Antonio and Mexico. She also collects Mexican and Guatemalan postcards, as well as works on paper by Mexican artists. She has appeared on three national TV shows. She lends to exhibitions and gives slide lectures to museum and historic preservation groups. Her articles and photographs have appeared in publications in the United States, Mexico and Germany. Her web site http://www.io.com/~reuter/ features research articles on San Jose tile and the postcard photographers of Guatemala and Mexico. Her eBay user ID is benignobsession.

Terry Tannert - Master of Mexican folk art Guadalupe Hermosillo Escobar piece.
The early church in Mexico taught the Indigenous people through the use of symbols.  Master of Mexican folk art Guadalupe Hermosillo Escobar creates crosses with these symbols of the Passion of Christ.  This is a small version of his crosses.  He colors them with different heating temperatures.  In our trip to San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, we toured Maestro Hermosillo's small museum.  I almost didn't get the cross back to Austin because I accidentally tried to carry it on the plane.  I ran back and someone helped me find a plastic bag to wrap the cross and then helped me to the desk to send it with the luggage.  It arrived safely!