Traditional and Folk Art Hall

Welcome!
to the Salon of

Rev. Howard Finster
(1916–2001)

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Pyroengraved wood clock by Rev. Howard Finster Clock has space for photographs or pictures Photograph by Beverly Finster

Grouping of pyroengraved wood strips by Rev. Howard Finster Pyroengraved strips are used as frames for his pyrographic paintings Photograph by Beverly Finster

Wood Kitchen Cabinets Pyroengraved by Rev. Howard Finster Photograph by Beverly Finster

American folk artist Howard Finster was, first and foremost, a preacher. The story is that he realized people were not paying enough attention to his sermons, and he decided to create his Paradise Gardens in Summerville, Georgia, as a way to reach them in a way that his message would stay with them. Today, those gardens are still being maintained and include not only the gardens, but also a museum, the Finster Folk Art Gallery, and the World's Folk Art Chapel.

Some years after creating his Paradise Gardens, he had a vision and heard a voice telling him to do sacred art, and his new journey began.

For more about his folk pyrographic art work, there is a fully illustrated article entitled Pyrography: Folk Art, An Interview with Rev. Howard Finster, published in the May–June 1997 issue of the Woodcarvers On-Line Magazine, linked here, about this American folk artist and preacher from Georgia, U.S.A. It tells about his interesting life and his world famous folk art.

Update 2001:
The Rev. Howard Finster died October 22, 2001. A follow-up "In Memoriam" article was published in Pyrograffiti 14, the November–December 2001 issue of the Woodcarvers On-Line Magazine. There is a rare pyro painting of Rev. Finster's shown in that article with special permission of J. F. Turner, author of the book Howard Finster: Man of Visions, Portrait of a Self-Taught Artist.

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