Background
She was born, 1934, in Isonville, a small town in rural Eastern Kentucky. Her father gave her a pocketknife and she soon took up a hobby practiced mostly by boys and mentor
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Minnie Adkins
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Minnie Adkins is a Kentucky folk artist known for her painted wood carvings of animals – roosters, red foxes, bears, possums, and horses. While a young child, she was attracted to whittling wooden sticks. Homesick, she continued to carve animals and sold her work at local outdoor markets.
Returning to Kentucky in 1983, she began selling her carvings at a craft gallery in Morehead, Kentucky where it was noticed by folk art dealer Larry Hackley who introduced the art work to collectors and galleries outside Kentucky.
Atkins is featured in a short documentary film and many publications. In the late 1980s, Minnie and Garland founded A Day in the Country, a folk art fair that today features works by over 50 folk artists from Kentucky and nine other states.
She continues to carve her iconic figures and collaborate on children"s books with Kentucky musician and author Mike Norris. American Folk Art Museum, New York City, New York
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia National Gallery of Art, Washington, District of Columbia Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia
Kentucky Folk Art Center, Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky
Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, North Carolina.
