b-b-bonus this week in outsider art // april 24th

'an educated man is one with a universal sympathy for every thing'

FIND OF THE WEEK

This week in Des Moines one of the greatest events in all of sports (in all of life should I say?) is taking place. The Drake Relays. I was fortunate enough to run in the Drake Relays numerous times years ago when I was fit and could walk up stairs without getting tired, and I’m fortunate enough to live close enough to hear Mike Jay on the intercom announce races into the three night event.

Which is why I have been, and continue to be very fond of this gorgeous wooden plaque. From the good folks at Walnut and Limestone, this circa 1920’s relief carved wood plaque depicting two runner’s sprinting over a finish line has tons of charm and nostalgia, it would look good on any shelf or desk with it’s folding metal easel.

It also comes with a nice little inscription on the back:

‘An Educated Man is one with a universal Sympathy for every thing in the universe and a certain amount of Knowledge about every thing that is known and who still is in the line of evolution and is Learning to the end.’

This wooden plaque could be yours as it is currently available for purchase via Walnut and Limestone.

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B-B-BONUS

This Week in Outsider Art

JAMES "SON FORD" THOMAS Skull (c. 1980s) // Dried gumbo clay with aluminum foil and dentures; 6.5 inches tall

If you’ve been around here long enough, thank you, and you’ve probably seen your fair share of James “Son Ford” Thomas skulls or Marvin Bailey eyeball jugs. I’m not going to apologize, because they’re the greatest. I can’t get enough of them.

These usually come up when a self-taught auction rolls around, new works from personal collections enter my world and in turn enter yours. That is the case for these works as Slotin’s Self-Taught Masterpiece two day sale is coming up this weekend.

I’ve shared a few works in the past few weeks on Instagram — “Son Ford”, a beautiful Minnie Evans, Clementine Hunter and the below Mary K. Borkowski.

MARY K. BORKOWSKI The Politician and the Early Voter (1969) // Fabric art; size with frame is 14" w x 15" h.

But of course, there’s so much more.