E-Museum of Pyrographic Art

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.




You are leaving the Rev. Howard Finster Salon.

You can return to the

Traditional and Folk Art Hall

or visit one of the following:


Pyrographic Art Exhibit Halls:


Portraits and Paintings

Decorative and Applied Art

Sculpture

Special Pyrographic Art

Antique Pyrography

Children's Pyrographic Art


The Book Store and E-Museum Library


Pyrography Tools and Techniques


Your questions and comments are welcome and appreciated.
Please e-mail the E-Museum Curator


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© 1997, 2001, 2007, 2009, 2010 Kathleen M. Garvey Menéndez,
all rights reserved. Last updated 14 February 2010.