My Folkart studio, Historical Recollections, is located in the picturesque area of Woodstock, Vermont, once designated the prettiest town in the North East.

18th and 19th century New England Folk Art has been my passion for over 35 years, and my husband has helped me along the way by making many of the wooden pieces that I faux grain and paint. I count myself fortunate to have his help and support.

Work is done in a studio nestled in a bountiful field of wild flowers a mile and a half up a quiet dirt road. Frequent visitors are the local fauna of wild turkeys, coyotes, foxes, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, moose, many different songbirds and a pesky black bear who insists on taking a bath in the tiny pool in the herb garden.

I was born and raised in coastal Connecticut,.in an area that was settled by my ancestors in 1638, and have lived in the Green Mountains of Vermont since 1972.

My interest in the 18th-mid 19th century of New England began as early as the 5th grade when our teacher took us to a fabulous place called Old Sturbridge Village. My interest was further inspired by a 7th grade Social Studies teacher who gave the whole class the assignment of taking our bikes and peddling all around our town, taking notes of all the historic homes, their original owners/builders and their backgrounds, as well as the type of architecture and roof type on each one. Thank you, Mr. Bogg.

My father also instilled in us a measure of curiosity about our English/Scotch background and our mother's Danish background. We spent many vacations touring the forts and museums of early New England.

I will backtrack a few years, to the first inkling my parents had that I might have inherited a bit of the artistic talent from the uncle I was named after. Low and behold, my first creative endeavor at the tender age of 6 -- an expansive mural, depicting MY interpretation of Humpty Dumpty, the wall and all the King's men. In order not to stifle my artistic bent, mom decided to leave it on the closet wall where I had created it and not scold me for the 'graffiti'.

As time went on, my uncle gifted me with one of his old oil paint boxes that he had refurbished and supplied with all the paints and brushes I needed to carry on my discoveries.

I have to say my family - aunts, uncles and cousins alike - had to suffer thru YEARS of VERY primitive paintings of their pets as I practiced my way into proficiency. Four years in high school were spent taking art courses each year that included calligraphy, as well as art history. I then progressed to college where I earned a degree in Fine Arts.

At one point in the mid 80's, I had a small retail shop and also dealt with two galleries to sell my work. My pieces have been bought by local folks, as well as those from England, Sweden, Canada, Germany, China and Hawaii.

A series of Old World Father Christmases, with 'needle-sculpted' faces, was purchased by a well known cosmetics firm for their Holiday Sales Promotion in New York City. For a time, I also worked as a stencil restorationist, bringing intinerent stenciller Moses Eaton's work back to it's original brilliance.

I am now expanding into the area of quality blank note cards, using the primitive paintings from the studio as well as a wealth of 18th - mid 19th century prints from my family archives.

All of the cards are printed here in my studio, using quality 100% recycled, acid-free papers that are custom cut, scored and folded by hand. To assure quality and longevity, only archival inks are used in the printing process.

All the items on this website are created for your pleasure, in the tradition of fine New England Folk Art, by a Vermont Artisan.

Enjoy!

Leslie E. Whitworth-Novak,
Artisan and Proprietress