Ed Gulley calls himself a “Junk Artist,” Maria calls him a folk artist, some people call him a yard artist. Ed is a dairy farmer, fresh from a visit to Lancaster, Pa., where he got some new camo clothes and a bunch of new ideas. Like any good artist – and Ed is a very good and inventive one – he sees things in junk that other people do not see. His sculptures and creations are authentic, gritty, unpolished and very real.
They are nothing less than the artifacts of life, his and ours. Ed found these wooden flowers at an auction and made them into outdoor garden sculptures, perfect for the winter when the real garden fades. He has some turtle sculptures made out of mower and tractor parts and an owl made out of an airplane part.
He and his art are coming to the Bedlam Farm Open House this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, 11-4, along with a slew of artists, poets and friends of the farm. Two big draft horses are coming from Blue Star Equiculture as well. Maria has chosen nine artists for her back-of-the-farm art show, beautiful and inventive creations from Ed and others.
We spent the afternoon at the Gulleys -Carol and Ed – dairy farm in White Creek. We saw a newborn calf and watched Ed treat the mother, who needed a calcium IV. Carol has also made a piece out of clover and peacock feathers, Maria is going to show it as part of the art show. We wandered through Ed’s amazing studio, right out of a Dystopian adventure film.
We are pleased to have Carol and Ed as friends, they are hard working farmers, up to their necks in labor, muck and hard work. Ed is an original, a generous, funny and fiercely individualistic man, and a natural artist. Ed will be on hand to talk about his art. Maria can spot them. More photos to come.
