❥ that dang mowing devil

this week in outsider art features the earliest depiction of a crop circle, violeta parra's arpilleras, some funky wood carvings for your wall and a must-see upstate ny show

Jul 20, 2025

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

for daily postings of outsider art visit folkartwork.art or follow on instagram

The Mowing-Devil (1678) or the Earliest Known Depiction of a Crop Circle via *Public Domain Review*

**VIOLETA PARRA** The tree of Life (Árbol de la vida) (1960) // Textile via Colección Museo Violeta Parra, Santiago, Chile

**Joseph Carway** creations, enamel paint on wood, courtesy *the artist*

**VASILIJ ROMANENKOV** Two women in profile looking at each other (1992) // Drawing; 26.1 x 19.8 cm via *Musée LaM*

**MADALENA SANTOS REINBOLT** Untitled (1969–77) h/t ARTNews / photo via João Liberato

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**LEO NAUGLER** Vice Grips Fish (date unknown) // Oil on metal; 9" x 9" x 4" (approx.) via *Black Sheep Gallery*

**MARCY HERMANSADER** Around (2007) // Color pencil, gouache, acrylic, collage; 9" x 12" via PULP

**NICARIO JIMÉNEZ QUISPE** Cross (1992) via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**LEE GODIE** Figures (Staying Alive) (c. 1993/94) // Mixed media on canvas; 23 x 29 in via *Block Museum of Art*

**KAY LE SEELLEUR ARA** Untitled (Ouch!) (2025) via *the artist*

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FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK

**TAMARA DENISENKO** Untitled (yellow flowers on deep blue sky) (2009) // Oil on canvas; 8” x 10” courtesy *the artist*

Tamara Denisenko (@tamaradenisenko.art) is an 85-year-old self-taught Russian folk artist living in Alaska. Prior to immigrating to the US, Tamara worked as a doctor and had never considered making art. She taught herself to paint in her 60s, as a means of self-expression with limited English in a new country. Exhibiting work publicly was never her goal, as she painted exclusively for herself and her family. Now, as she nears 90-years-old, she has given her granddaughter permission to share these pieces with more people than just her immediate family.

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WATCHING AND READING

Here are a few things I’ve been watching this past week:

Here are a few things I’ve been reading this past week:

OH WORD?

Violeta Parra playing the guitar. G5 Noticias // via DailyArtMagazine.com

A while back I bought some textiles that I knew little to nothing about. I bought them because they were beautiful and I have all the respect in the world for textile artists because it seems impossible for me to do. I’m still working on a Frida Kahlo DIY weaving project I staretd out eight years ago.

Turns out they were a specific type of textile created by a specific group of women in South America.

Like, Violeta Parra (1917-1967). A Chilean composer, folk singer, and social activist, best known as one of the founders of the politically inflected Nueva Canción (“New Song”) movement who also painted, wrote poetry, sculpted, and wove arpilleras (folk tapestries).

Parra’s arpilleras were a tool for relaying deeply felt needs that were private and shared, local and international, and tied to both high and low culture.

*The peasants' strike (1964) // Burlap fabric embroidered with wool; 190 x 320 cm via Violeta Parra Museum Collection*

“An arpillera, which means burlap in Spanish, is a brightly colored patchwork picture made predominantly by groups of women (also known as arpilleristas). The construction of arpilleras became popular in Chile during the military dictatorship (1973–90) of Augusto Pinochet. The production of arpilleras provided a vital source of income for the arpilleristas, many of whom had been left in a state of financial insecurity due to widespread unemployment and forced disappearances of their husbands and children, who became known as desaparecidos.” (Wikipedia)

*The little witch (1962-1963) // Embroidered fabric; 122 x 102 cm via Violeta Parra Museum Collection*

These women created these both as a form of self-expression while living through an autoritarian regime, and a way to make money, finding a global market that would help them making a modicum of a living while supporting their familes. One of the women who was largely responsible and helpful in this manner, was none other than Violeta Parra whose arpilleras you’ll see here.

In April 1964 the Musée des Arts décoratifs in the north-western wing of the Louvre Palace hosted an extraordinary exhibition that went down in history as the first solo show of a Latin American artist in the museum. The artist, Violeta Parra, was a woman and a Chilean who wove legendary songs and tapestries. (DailyArtMagazine)

Parra died in 1967 but left behind a treasure trove of beautiful and inspiring artwork that still resonates today.

SHOUT OUT

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Shout out to Ruffed Grouse Gallery for opening “Little Walt Dog: Crossing America” this weekend in Upstate New York!

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FROM THE COLLECTIVE

The first ever FolkArtwork postcard with art created by Milo Oestreich, age seven, who created this after looking at self-taught artist Sarah Lee’s original work of art “Los Gatitos”. Proceeds of every sale will go directly to Maram Radwan, a citizen of Gaza who has been displaced due to Israel’s genocide on Palestine.

(Postcard is 7 inches x 5 inches and printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper). *FREE SHIPPING*

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