WHITTLE FOLK – The Beginning
“WHITTLE FOLK” is a term coined in 1986 to describe a style of carving developed by the WOOD BEE CARVER that has become “WHITTLE FOLK ART.” Folk Art is the art of the common folk often self learned in the trial and error method of learning while doing. Whittling or carving only with a knife falls into this category of folk art.
“Whittle Folk” were introduced as caricatures of the Ozark and Appalachian hillbilly tradition, carved from a single piece of basswood three inches tall by one inch square using a pocket knife as the carving knife of choice. They are called “Whittle Folk” because they are little (pronounced “whittle”) and because they are carved in the whittling style with hundreds of facets left by the cutting edge.
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