Carol Baran is a folk art painter who extends traditional
designs to contemporary living. Her special art form is recreating
Old World folk art designs on furniture and objects d'art such
as plates, wall plaques, small stools and such. Many of her designs
are based on traditional forms from Europe and Russia to include
Rosemaling (Norway), Darla Zhostova trays (Russia) and Russian
Fairy Tale painting as found on the lacquer boxes. She also has
designs based on traditional folk art forms developed in the
U.S., such as Fraktur, a German style of decoration on documents,
from the various cultural groups who emigrated here. Carol has
also studied the works of American painters including Peter Ompir,
Peter Hunt and Warner Reed. Her private collection of artwork
includes exceptional examples of these various forms painted
by renowned artists.
In her studies, Carol has traveled extensively
in Europe and photographed numerous painted pieces in museums
from Italy to Norway and Sweden. She has assembled an 1800 volume
library on the topic of traditional painted folk art forms and
related design media from various countries. In addition, she
has studied extensively with many of the established folk artists
in Norway, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United
States. With her husband Mike, she has authored articles on Russian
Lacquer Boxes and Tunbridge tessellated wares from England. She
has completed numerous commissions ranging from a Norwegian "bringing
basket" which tells the Biblical story of the five foolish
and five wise virgins at the wedding feast, to a china cabinet
redecorated in petite French florals; a gun cabinet in a traditional
German shooting board design, matching jewelry boxes and hope
chests in the Dutch Hindeloopen and Italian impesto florals,
and a special chest of drawers decorated in an original floral
pattern. She has restored designs on a variety of trays, headboards
and other furniture on a custom order basis. Each piece is designed
and built specifically for that customer, is totally finished
inside and out, and comes with a description of the orgins of
the painted designs Carol applies to it.
Folk Art - Preserving the Beautiful Symbols of
Life's Enduring Values
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