Washington Crowell. Sculptor. Decoy Carver. Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Active 1920’s.

Washington Crowell was a decoy carver.

Ref: Gerald Ferguson, Decoy carvers of Nova Scotia. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. 1984.

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).

Eli Croft. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Camperdown, Nova Scotia. Active early 20th century.

Eli Croft made naive carvings of people, birds and animals. He also made carved crooked knives and furniture occasionally using ‘as found’ materials. Eli Croft was cited in ‘From the Heart’ (1983).

Ref: The Canadian Centre for Folk Culture Studies. From The Heart: Folk Art in Canada. McClelland and Stewart, Toronto. 1983.

Ref: Marie Elwood. Folk Art of Nova Scotia. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Halifax. 1976.

Ref: Richard Field. Spirit of Nova Scotia. Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. Halifax. 1985.

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).

Gerald Croft. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia. Active 1980’s – .

Gerald Croft is a bird carver. He makes striking impressions of the woodland birds of Nova Scotia. All of his works are painted in bright primary colours and finished in high gloss automotive clear coat. (A material he has often used in his work as a car body man.) His birds are elegant and well mounted on ‘as found’ roots, burls and branches that he finds in the woods around his house. These too are finished in high gloss ‘clear coat’. Gerald Croft would sometimes finish and mount, as a sculpture, a burl by itself as an object. (Some examples are below.)

Gerald Croft very occasionally will carve small animals and he has spent some years building models of the various semi-trailer truck ‘rigs’ that he drove during his time as a trucker. From logging rigs to tankers and ‘reefers’ (refrigerated), he built them entirely out of wood and coloured them to appear like metal where necessary. An interesting man and a very accomplished and creative artist with a fine colour sense.  He signed all his work and often dated them.

A  Bird on it’s Perch by Gerald Crofts:

Bird on a Perch. By Gerald Croft. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia.

The Mark on the Bird:

Bird on a Perch. By Gerald Croft. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia. His mark.

A Burl by Gerald Crofts:

Mounted Burl. By Gerald Croft. Italy Cross, Nova Scotia.

Kevin Creaser. Sculptor. Woodcarver. Painter. Lower LeHavre, Nova Scotia. Active 1991 – .

Kevin Creaser is a naive artist. He makes carvings of people in situations. His work is very inventive and full of humour and colour. He carves in the round and also makes relief carvings. Kevin Creaser has an excellent colour sense. He signs his work. Creaser has participated in the Lunenburg Kolk Art Festival.

Kevin Creaser. When the Cat Shows Up. An applied relief carving:

Kevin Creaser. Relief carving.

Ref: Folk Art Maritime. Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. 

Ref: Blake McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999).