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Nancy Malay: Folk Art

Nancy Malay is a self-taught artist who creates a unique variety of snowmen, santas, rabbits, and chicks! While she loves both the elaborate, Victorian look and the whimsical style of Folk Art, one of her favourite styles is the simple, time worn appearance of Primitives. All of her pieces are one of a kind.

Her Mother was an excellent seamstress and taught her how to sew at a young age. She started making cloth dolls about 25 years ago, and things progressed from there. Nancy's first website, "Christmas Lady", was created in 2003. The addition of her second website, "The Cottontail Collection", featuring her rabbits and chicks, was launched last year.

A wide variety of materials are used to make her items, including, paper mache, paperclay, vintage batting, clay & cloth. Adding mica & German glass glitter really gives her pieces an "old fashioned" look. She loves little children dressed in bunny costumes, whimsy & the look of old tinsel!

Inspiration comes from many places! She inherited an old postcard collection from her Grandmother, which is filled with wonderful old images, many with Easter & Christmas themes. One of her favourite pastimes is to scour antique shops, garage sales & flea markets to find fabrics & treasures to use for her work.

What started out as a hobby many years ago has turned into a real "labor of love" for Nancy. She lives in Faribault, MN with her husband of 26 years, Rick. They have three sons, Jordan, 24, Zach, 22 & Brett, 21.