Doris Fountain - Primitive Folk Art

My name is Doris Fountain, I was born and raised 8 miles south of Mountain View, Arkansas. I am married to a wonderfully talented fiddle player named Roger Fountain. We live in Pineville, a small town nestled between the White River and Norfork Lake.

I attended school at Rural Special and graduated in 1968. I attended college at UCA in Conway and majored in Business. I worked for Conagra for over 16 years as an office manager until they closed the operations in Mountain View.

I was raised in a family of very creative people, my parents and grandparents alike, so when I needed to find a new career I decided to develop my craft. I first learned to weave baskets and taught classes at the Ozark Folk Center and out of my home studio. All my life I have been working on my Old World Santa.

My Santas are made on a wooden dowel base. I use wire for the arm and the face is hand molded and hand painted. I use Celluclay for the face, which is a powdered paper mache. The outfits are old quilts, wool, velvet or tapestry. I use long flowing beards (acrylic or wool), which I put through a long process to achieve the color and texture I need. I decorate each Santa differently, some with moss and a stick with an old vine basket, and others with a bag of toys and a tree. I just try to be creative with each Santa I make

My studio is in the back of my home. We live on the main highway and have plenty of parking. There is only one step to my entrance. We are about 35 or 40 minutes and 26 miles from Mountain View. I plan to have my Santas in all different stages for the tour, so you can see how I put them together. I will be demonstrating all phases of the process.

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