Adorning barns with folk art; an old practice renewed

Dave Oaks, or ‘Oaksy’ as he’s called, might be just as busy now as he was before he officially joined the ranks of the retired. His new enterprise “Barn Quilts by Oaksy” was started on a lark. He really likes those folk art “quilt squares” attached to barns and he wanted to keep his creative interests engaged while providing a unique product. The endeavor has begun to gain ground and while Oaksy can still find time for maintenance work at senior apartments in Rush City and help relatives farm; lately the quilt square making is taking on a life of its own.

One of his barn quilts is easily spotted from County Road 9, north of Center City, at Country Rhoads Alpaca Farm. The quilt square got placed on the barn just a few weeks ago. Deb Rhoads said the barn quilt was hung Friday and “Friends of Minnesota Barns” came by the farm Saturday, said Rhoads. The Friends are barn restoration hobbyists. The barn age and condition was estimated by Alyssa Auten, an associate with the Taylors Falls Historical Society and Folsom House staff. Auten feels the Rhoads barn is at least 105 years old, maybe older.

When it started losing its roof, the Rhoads decided it was time to put some money into the structure. Deb said she simply could not continue to live there and watch it collapse. Auten, is trained in historic building conservation and can visit your site and for a fee consult on age, construction characteristics, structure, etc. Auten can be contacted at [email protected] or leave a message at 651-470-1528. A couple years ago Deb and Jerry Rhoads established the alpaca operation and now have six animals.

Deb enjoys spinning the alpaca fiber into yarn. She is thrilled to once again have creatures sheltered in the barn. She explained they learned of the barn quilts from Oaksy’s display at the Almelund Threshing Show, and selected their pattern and the piece was quickly built. Oaks, of Stacy, says he has never considered himself an artist. But, hey, if the shoe fits. How else would descriptive terminology like sky rocket, sunflower star, pieced tulips, or shadow ray be used, except to describe a work of art? The quilting patterns are enlarged 50 to 100 times the size they’d normally be in a sewn quilt, and are painted onto marine grade wood squares that can be anywhere from 4X4 to 8X8 feet in size or larger.

They are meant to hang on the exterior of a barn but you can customize any sized space with a “barn quilt.” Oaksy makes them to last using exterior paints and clear coat protection from the elements. He will even install them for you with help from a bucket truck. Another example of his barn quilt work is on Wild Mountain Road, adorning a barn owned by Tom and Barb Krawczewski. Barn quilts hark back hundreds of years. They personalize and show pride in a farmstead. Some people believe certain designs attract good fortune or ward-off bad.

Way cheaper than going artsy all over the barn; in the olden days the small amount of paint one had to acquire (or even quantities of leftovers) for doing a barn quilt square was the only thing people could afford. Farmsteads became known by the quilt pattern boldly affixed to their barn. Barn quilt trails-- motorized routes laid out across many counties in states like Ohio and Iowa--have been organized so that anyone with an interest can learn about the quilt patterns and each sites’ history in an organized fashion.

Oaksy would love to be a part of something like this in Chisago County, and has hopes to develop a self-guided tour working with local historical society members and barn owners. Oaksy can be reached at 651-257-7408 or e mail to [email protected]. There is a website with some pattern information and contact details at barnquiltsbyoaksy.com