I first saw Etta Baker at Merlefest while taking photos for this series. I was immediately enthralled with her playing. I love her slow melodies with every note having a resounding purpose. It is if she plays with a “less is more” style that grasps the melody. I was already working on the series and knew the minute I heard and saw her perform that I wanted to include her. I wanted to include more women in the series and she seemed like the first logical choice. I had heard that she was an early influence on Doc Watson because they lived near each other. Her style of Piedmont blues and the longevity of her career under relative obscurity made her exactly the type of subject I wanted. Though it did venture off my original plan of depicting bluegrass musicians, I felt that I could really tell an important story through a drawing of her hands. Her wrinkled and scarred hands tell a story of a woman who played music for the pure enjoyment of the music, as she worked for many years, not as a musician, but in a textile mill while raising nine children. I was amazed to hear that for nearly forty years she only played for friends and family recording for the first time at age forty-three. She didn't record again until thirty-five years later at the age of 78. She has been a real inspiration for me by proving that someone can still be out playing music, performing, doing what they love at age ninety.
THE ORIGINAL WORK OF THIS PRINT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.
PRICES FOR ORIGINAL WORKS START AT $2500.00. PLEASE CONTACT ADAM W. CARLOS FOR MORE INFORMATION.
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