Folk Art

Art of handmade instruments kept alive by Sand Mountain craftsman Dean McKenzie
Even the strongest wood must first endure the bite of the blade before being crafted into a beautiful instrument of song. Likewise, we must sometimes experience the pain of tribulations so that a much greater purpose can be carved from our lives...

The blue, blue grass of home
Gene Ivey has been making musical instruments for 34 years. He's been making music for a lot longer...

A tradition recorded with needle and thread
Old quilts tell a story. Wrap yourself in one and you can almost feel the love poured into the hours of tedious labor it took to produce the covering...

Lonnie Barksdale's stringed instruments are works of art
He's made a mandolin with a banjo body and a banjo with a mandolin body. Two hundred years ago, the Russians introduced the balalaika; he has made two of these unusual triangular instruments...