Folk Artists of the San Rafael

Learn about some of the people who preserve the heritage of the American West through art.

Folk Artist Jay Frandsen: As a kid, Jay Frandsen roamed the deserts and hills of the San Rafael Swell looking for arrowheads. As he grew up, this interest led him to taking a survival class at B.Y.U. where he learned to make primitive items. Since that time, Jay has increased his knowledge by taking a few classes, but for the most part he has been self-taught. Jay's creations include steel knives with horn handles, elk horn belt buckles, spurs decorated with silver, elk ivory jewelry, arrowheads of all sizes and other obsidian flaked items such as eagles. Jay has developed his multi-items because as he says, "I get tired of doing only one thing and I need to go on to something else."

Jay is also a very talented musician and country western singer. He has his own band and writes his own cowboy Western music. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering his art.

Folk Artist Eldon Holmes: As Eldon Holmes says, "If I had a million dollars, I'd fill a room full of clay and just be in heaven." This very aptly describes Eldon's love of working with clay in order to create the spectacular sculpting he does. Eldon has created four beautiful sculptures of Native Americans. "The Hunter" is of a young Indian being attacked by a wild cat. Eldon asks, "Who is being hunted, the cat who attacks from a tree or the young man in pursuit of the cat?"

Another sculpture, "Craftsman" is of a man sitting and examining a arrowhead as if as to be making certain that it is perfect before attaching it to an arrow. A third figure, "Gone Fishing," is of a Native American about to shoot an arrow at a fish in a pond of water. "The Dancer" is the last in this set of four figures and it is of a Native American dancing with his shield and spear. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering his art.

Folk Artists Stephanie and Mike Clayton craft boxes, chests, gourds, small tables, shelves, buckets, and more. Each piece is one of a kind, often made from recycled materials, old barn wood, and "treasures" found out and about. Mike builds the wooden items and Stephanie provides unique decorations, paints, and carving. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering their art.

Folk Artist Wells Wakefield is able to turn an ordinary piece of wood into a beautiful work of art, whether it be furniture, a bowl, a vase, candlesticks, or a shelf. Wells has always loved working with wood but it was not until after he retired that he found the time to really develop his art. He gathers wood on the mountain, and the desert or where ever he can find something that looks interesting to work with. Wells enjoys using apricot and walnut as they are some of the best woods to work with. Even his neighbors and grown children are always on the look out for an unique piece of wood to send to him. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering his art.

Folk Artists Theron and Estelle Grange have found a new way to use an old, and renewable, resource. Deer and elk shed their horns every year and they are left out on the mountains. The Granges find these horns and use them to create beautiful lamps, chandeliers, candle sticks and fire place tools. They have a small home-based business called "Horn Creations" in Huntington, Utah. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering their art.

Folk Artist Cliff Oviatt is a man of many talents. He has painted spectacular desert murals on the walls of the Museum of the San Rafael. His paintings of scenery from the San Rafael Swell truly capture the spirit of this unique landscape. He works in water color, clay for sculpting and has an incredible imagination that helps him create shadow boxes of clay reproductions of prehistoric Native American artifacts and decorations. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering his art.

Folk Artists Chris and Byron Jensen have an unique partnership. Because of Chris's work with the county cooperative extension office, she is always learning new skills based on pioneer practices. Chris and Byron started with making home made soaps, so mild they soothe the most sensitive skin.

Later Chris learned the art of Shirret rug making from a talented 90 year old woman. This process requires wool fabric or loosely woven fabric cut on the bias. The long strips are then sewn together standing upright so them make a thick, soft wool rug just perfect to step out of bed on a cold winter morning, or to kneel on for prayers before jumping into bed. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering their art.

Folk Artist Will Holdaway always wanted to make guitars and even took a class on it when he attended Brigham Young University. But it wasn't until later in life that he was inspired to get going on developing this new talent. With the help of a high school shop teacher, Elias Perez, Will learned all the ins and outs of great guitar making and now, he can make one just for you. Fill out a simple form for information about ordering his art.