The cotton patch quilt guild

The Cotton Patch Quilt Guild (Athens, Georgia) exists to preserve and promote quilting using the folk tradition of one per-son passing their knowledge on to another. They offer classes, make charity quilts and sponsor a biennial show. During this year’s festival, volunteers from the guild will be exhibiting show quilts made by members and demonstrating quilting tech-niques. Proceeds from the quilts, pothold-ers and throws they sell will sponsor char-ity projects. For information about joining the guild or about guild activities, send an email to info@cpquilters.org.

Rebecca Gilliard (Sweet Grass Basket Maker, Union City, Geor-gia) is part of a long line of sweet-grass basket makers, learning from her aunt and other elders in her community when she was just ten years old. Sweet grass baskets originated in Africa and traveled to this country with enslaved African people along the South Carolina coast. Today, their descendents continue the tradition of making of these highly functional and beauti-ful baskets. Rebecca Gilliard creates many styles of baskets. Her work has been exhibited at the High Museum of Art and at the Atlanta History Museum in Atlanta. She is listed on the Georgia Council for the Arts Traditional Artist Roster and on Southern Artistry, an adjudi-cated list published by the Southern Arts Federation. She is passing the tradition of sweet grass basket mak-ing forward by teaching it to her daughters, two of whom will be with her at this year’s festival. For more information go to www.southernartistry.org/

Rebecca Gilliard

Rosa Hall (Bishop) began making brooms a few years ago to go with the fireplace sets made by her blacksmith son. By now, her Appalachian - style floor, whisk and turkey wing brooms are known as both functional and beautiful in their own right. The brooms you can see her make at this year’s festival come in handy for a variety of uses around the home such as sweeping floors, hearths, car floor boards or anywhere you’d use a commercial broom. They are made to be used and make great gifts. Rosa Hall is a retired teacher and is past President of the Pilot Club of Oconee County. She dem-onstrates broom making at several area festivals and events throughout the year.

Rosa hall

Peter Loose

Peter Loose (Hull, Georgia) is a long-time participant in the North Georgia Folk Festival. Pe-ter came to the Athens area years ago to work as a naturalist at the Sandy Creek Nature Center. Somewhere along the way, he began to paint. His whimsical roosters, paintings, birdhouses and sculptural musical instruments bear dots, hearts, and bright colors. Peter is also the illustra-tor of two well-known children’s books, Bongo is a Happy Dog and Bongo Has Many Friends. At this year’s festival he’ll be sharing his folk art dulcimers and demonstrating folk art painting. For more information visit www.peterloose.com.

Brenda McKaig (Rising Fawn, Georgia) is a self-taught spinner and weaver. For over 20 years, she has had her own flock of sheep whose wool she spins then dyes into vibrant colors. Brenda has been a Georgia Council for the Arts Traditional Grant Recipi-ent twice, and is considered by the Georgia Council on the Arts to be a Master Artist.

Brenda McKaig

Jim Richardson (Jeweler and Silversmith, Athens, Georgia) has been working at his craft and teaching for 25 years. His hand-made creations are in collections throughout the United States and internationally. His background in blacksmithing is expressed in some of the heavier forged pieces he fabri-cates while the years of fine jewelry experi-ence show in the detail and finish on others. Jim holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia and, when time per-mits, serves as an instructor at The William Holland School of Lapidary Arts. At this year's festival he will be demonstrating the forging of a silver spoon and some simple rings. For more information email Jim at brotherthedog@yahoo.com.

Jim richardson

cap man (Athens) is selling his colorful folk art paintings of flowers, chickens and landscapes painted on recycled materials such as doors, scrap wood and architectural pieces. He will also be exhibiting his bottle cap covered art car.

Cap man

The Classic City Carvers (Athens) are of-fering hand carved canes, walking sticks, figures, masks and free carved found wood.

The Classic City Carvers

John Davis

John Davis is a self taught artist who is selling hiking sticks and walking canes that he crafts from avail-able, often native, woods. Children (and adults) will enjoy visiting his booth to try their hand at this craft.

Kim Dean (Athens) uses various blends and weights of yarn to make hand knitted accessories for all ages. She has hats, scarves, socks, and other items available for this year’s festival. Kim was taught to knit by her mother over 20 years ago.

Kim Dean

Jeremy freidman & Christine rodick

Jeremy Friedman and Christine Rodick (Athens) have promoted the use of native plants in our area for years. They will be at the 25th annual North Georgia Folk Festival with 15 varieties of native peren-nial wildflower plugs ready for you to take home and plant in your garden. This is exactly the right time of year for these to be planted so that they can form strong room systems during the cool months and make healthy plants which can be enjoyed for years to come. Some favorites are milkweed, cardinal flower, columbine, butterfly weed, river oats and pink muhly grass.

Ben Jordan

Ben Jordan (Athens) will be selling flame worked pen-dants and sculptures made from clear and brightly col-ored borosilicate glass. He manipulates glass rods over an oxygen and propane powered torch to create his designs which are then an-nealed in a kiln for strength and durability.

Kari Lentini

Kari Bjork Lentini (Athens) comes from a long line of jewelers and artists and has been doing beadwork in one form or an-other since early childhood. She has stud-ied beadwork in various locations in the United States and abroad. Today she is offering necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings made with sterling, brass, copper, semiprecious stones, glass, African and vintage beads and fibers.

Will and Trishanne Langford (Danielsville) are well-known for stoneware pottery in beautiful, functional designs. They will be at the festival with bowls, mugs, pitchers and other items for you to purchase for use in your own home or to give as gifts.

Will & Trishanne Langford

Cheryl Martinez (Athens) makes and sells all natural soap, bath and body products. She uses natural oils and Shea butter, and plants to create her products.

Cheryl martinez

Tim and Alice Mills

Tim and Alice Mills (Athens) from Mills Farm will have their famous and delicious Red Mule Grits, corn meal, polenta and porridge for you to take home and enjoy. Their products are made on a steel burr mill powered by their 17 year-old mule Luke. All Mills Farm products are made with certified organic grain and are chemi-cal and preservative free.

Bill and Lisa Owens

Bill Owens (Monroe, Georgia) will be at the festival this year with delicious local tulip poplar and clover honey made by the hard working bees at the Owens’ api-ary. He will also be showing his observation hive so that visitors can see a live working bee hive through the protective glass. Festival goers will be interested in watching the queen lay eggs and the worker bees make honey.

Panhandle Slim

Panhandle Slim (Savannah) is a self-taught folk artist who paints in clear bright colors on wooden boards. His portraits of familiar cultural icons are coupled with a few important lines from a speech or song. Visit panhandleslimart.com

Charlie Rakestraw

Charlie Rakestraw (Jefferson) is returning to this years festival with an array of creative metal sculpture, iron worked pieces and knives. Mr. Rakestraw’s highly collectible Spring People are welcome guests at any gathering.

Susan Staley

Susan Staley (Athens) travels to festivals around southeast and Midwest exhibiting her work, winning awards along the way. Her wrapped glass jewelry, stained glass sun catchers and treasure boxes are ever popular. This multitalented artist is also known locally as one of the Solstice Sis-ters, as a member of String Theory and as the organizer for the Athens Folk Music and Dance Society’s monthly Hoot.

Beth Kelley Zorbanos

Beth Kelley Zorbanos (Danielsville) has long been involved in the planning and success of the North Georgia Folk Festival and is the organizer of the an-nual Folk Life Festival in Danielsville. Today she is selling and demonstrating the making of corn shuck dolls, a skill she first learned over 22 years ago from Daisy Justice of Foxfire fame. Beth’s dolls now reflect her own style, incor-porating natural and hand-dyed corn-shucks, waxed linen, sheep’s wool, raw silk , corn silk and flax. She also makes hand rolled beeswax candles and note cards.