Tessera

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social

@ephemeralfolk.bsky.social

Seasonal bot that posts daily photos and text from Avon Neal and Ann Parker's classics "Scarecrows" and "Ephemeral Folk Figures." Text may contain outdated language. Bot maintained by @fruitbat.bsky.social.

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ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · yesterday

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PLATE 19. Bib overalls with galluses and assorted pockets for plug tobacco, binder twine, a dollar watch, a pocket knife, and a big red bandanna used to be the farmer's common uniform.
Nowadays one sees them few and far between, least of all on ragged scarecrows. However, a faded, baggy pair turn up on this hard-working fellow, and their worn and dusty essence inspire an old-fashioned confidence that such pastoral scenes still exist in this hectic world.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 2d ago

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PLATE 18. Often the simplest of discarded garments make picture-book impressions. A moth-eaten moose-and-snowflake patterned sweater with its arms unraveled almost out of existence and a lady's peaked hat from the 1930's gives this scarecrow its singular attraction. The well-kept garden offers mute testimony to its effectiveness.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 5d ago

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PLATE 17. There is a simple elegance in the folds of this old fur coat as it clings to a rough wooden cross, its waist gathered in with binder twine, and exposed to all weather. Months of alternating sunshine and rain have given it a rich patina and transformed it into a beautiful graphic image.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 6d ago

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PLATE 16. An almost lifelike quality is realized in this unusual manikin by the use of a trans-parent, molded plastic mask.
On wet days, the hat and black vinyl raincoat glisten shiny new.
The field has long since gone to weeds, but this sinister scarecrow remains with its gloved, string-slung hand extended in a deceptively friendly gesture, as though welcoming all comers-even crows.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · last wk.

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PLATE 14. This black-robed figure had served his scarecrow's purpose the year before, and has ended up by being used to buttress a sagging post. The unintended effect is startling beyond belief. It is reminiscent of a medieval religious procession with a cross-bearing penitent making his way slowly over a stubbled field.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · last wk.

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PLATE 13. If scarecrows are ordinarily thought of as emaci-ated, then here is an enormous exception. Constructed over an abandoned set of concrete steps, which her makers consider an eyesore, this fat lady presents a truly bizarre appearance. Much concern and planning has gone into her costume. Her glistening face is made of silver foil wrapped around a bundle of rags and framed by a frilly tulle hat. The jeweled medallion, that hangs from her neck, is a circular highway reflector. A flat kitchen sponge is strapped over her shoulder like an old purse. If her decorative qualities seem grotesque, her workaday job is even stranger, for she is delegated to keep birds away from the ragged plastic flower growing from a waterpipe stem. She performs this task un-flinchingly, squinting endless hours through empty eyeglass frames.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · last wk.

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PLATE 12. The well-known nursery rhyme which begins, "There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile," immediately comes to mind at the sight of this propped-up figure. Like his namesake, he appears to be making his way across an open field on a pair of unreliable, straw-stuffed legs-perhaps to a little crooked house.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 2w ago

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PLATE 11. There is something of the gallows about this rude figure suspended from a tree limb. An old man made it of rags and double-crossed laths. Others hung in the same garden, but this one has a cowbell around its neck that tolls mournfully as it sways in the wind.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 2w ago

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PLATE 10. Scarecrows are crisp and neat in early spring. This truck patch dude with his face painted on a length of board inclined his head as he posed to preserve the proud moment for posterity. By late summer there would be little resemblance to this photograph, for by then he would be faded and generally bedraggled by the elements.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 2w ago

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PLATE 9. Rising abruptly from a clump of black-eyed Susans, this pot-headed overseer has just put a flock of crows to raucous flight. His dark hat and windbreaker prepare him for all weather while his stoic features, traced with care to conform to the kettle's distorted surface, suggest an unassailable haughti-ness.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 2w ago

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PLATE 8. An empty bleach jug turned upside down provides the touch that gives this gentle bean patch sentinel a character beyond the simple stick-and-rag figure it might otherwise have been. A felt-tipped marking pen produced an indelible face to withstand the weathering effects of sun and rain.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 2w ago

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PLATE 7. A field of poppies seems hardly in need of a scare-crow. Perhaps his gaunt spectre was left over from some previous planting, or maybe it was made for the sheer joy of creating an image that would transform an already lovely scene into something slightly more. It stood through all seasons like a black-garbed monk preaching sermons to the flowers.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 2w ago

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PLATES 5 AND 6. These two
Gargantuan effigies dwarf the landscape as they stalk the furrows of a newly-planted field, daring any creature to trespass against their strict domain. They are stationed facing each other from opposite ends of the clearing and seem fully capable of communicating in stentorian voices if the occasion demands it. One wears a velveteen smock and the other a corduroy robe-fine clothing even for such trustworthy wardens.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 3w ago

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PLATE 4. This stern figure sports a delicate touch-a pearl hatpin stuck into his sweat-stained hatband. A white vinyl bag stuffed with grass forms his head while the facial features and stubbled beard are crudely daubed on with black paint. He appears quite menacing as his crossed eyes search the heavens for crows.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 3w ago

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PLATE 3. Sometimes scarecrows appear as airy spectres wafted through rows of tassled corn. This one's faded housedress, tied to the bare bones of a crossed stake and draped to catch each vagrant breeze, suggests a cape-like elegance. The din and dazzle of aluminum pie tins dancing through breezy sunlit mornings are enough to keep garden pests at bay.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 3w ago

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PLATE 2. Scarecrows made by children tend mostly toward simple designs. This not unfriendly guardian of the family raspberry patch has a stuffed paper-bag head and a face sketched in with crayon. It is direct and unassuming, and proved wholly effective throughout the season.

ephemeralfolk.bsky.social @ephemeralfolk.bsky.social · 3w ago

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PLATE 1 (frontispiece). From a distance this fantastic scarecrow looks like a turbaned Turk hawking his wares in the marketplace. However, a closer look reveals him for what he really is—a marvellous straw-stuffed assemblage of sun-faded apparel craftily arranged over a wooden frame. He has an actual mop of hair and a hank of wall insulation for a moustache. His Cyclopean eye roves the sky for birds as his glittering pie-tin cymbals strike muted music in the air.