Pioneer Days at Loachapoka

The Pioneer Days at Loachapoka, AL, sponsored by the Lee County Historical Society, was fantastic. In fact, we had more interest there for a one day show than other art shows we attended for three days.

The weather was outstanding and lots of people out enjoying the fall day.

The cedar wooden spoons were very popular as well as the 100 year old shingle signs. We took two birdhouse trees to gauge the interest in them. Both were sold and interest high, so the old cedar tops in the woods will not be safe. We also pleased with the response to the prints, also. Best of all, we were able to spend time with Daniel and Laura, pictured above.

Custom Ordered Signs

Our signs have been a big seller at arts and crafts shows. We are now offering you the opportunity to order customized signs painted on 100 year old split oak shingles. The shingles range in size from 2 feet to over 3 1/2 feet and are from 4-6 inches wide. Choose you text and and color scheme. If you are interested in order contact us by email at mccoyfolkart@gmail.com

Wooden Wheelbarrow

I recently acquired several old iron wheelbarrow wheels. I used old designs to make two wheelbarrows. The first one I made was from red cedar. However, the one in this picture was made from red oak boards sawed from trees on the farm and hand planed. The handles on this particular one are made from oak plow handles. This design usually has side boards and was called a garden or yard barrow useful for hauling dirt and vegetation. This one does not have side boards making it more useful for hauling firewood or stones. Around the farm we find wheelbarrows very useful in making our work easier.

The earliest wheelbarrows date back to 118 AD and are attributed to the Chinese. In Europe the first wheelbarrows appeared around 1170 AD. This wheelbarrow is more typical of the European design rather than the Chinese.

More Bird House Trees

Here are three more samples of my bird house trees. Found these cedar trees in the woods and decided to recycle them. The signs are painted on old oak roofing shingles. I am trying to get a few things ready for some arts and craft shows.