Jim Lambert ’68
by Donna B. Kelley ’70
Folk artist Jim Lambert ’68 cuts wood pieces in the mornings, assembles and paints in the afternoons, and leaves evenings to sketch. His materials—and thus his pieces—change with the seasons. He estimates half of his materials are dropped off by neighbors and friends. A box of peach stones and mushrooms left on his doorstep became rooster crops. The nature of the materials dictates the design, but the pieces themselves remain unplanned and spontaneous. Lambert may start with the idea of a sitting cat, for instance, but has no idea what it will look like. Rough hewn, colorful, making use of whatever is around—it is pure traditional folk art sculpture.
Lambert says his hands are his most important tool. He also uses a jigsaw, drill, X-acto knife, hammer and chisel, but even Lambert would be hard pressed to locate them in his workshop. More evident are the scraps of material, sketches lying everywhere and pieces in progress. He says, “That’s how I work—organized chaos.”
Lambert is concerned with the history and heritage of folk art. “It is not clever, not cute, not whimsical. It is a way of life; a lifestyle.” He wants to add his understanding, skill and experiences to that heritage. “I am a purist.”
His art has received a strong response from collectors. His work has appeared in national magazines such as Country Collectibles and Early American Homes. In 2004, New Hampshire Magazine chose his work as “Best Folk Art” in their Best of New Hampshire Edition.
Lambert believes in the old saying, “Waste not, want not.” A native of rural Claremont, N.H., Lambert remembers his mother always making things with her hands. “Do it yourself or go without.” He developed an energetic work ethic by watching his parents.
In school, he had art class a couple of times a week but does not remember doing anything creative. He roars with laughter when he recalls his high school principal asking him what he wanted to do. “I told her I wanted to be an art teacher. I have no idea where that came from!”
Lambert’s training at Plymouth State in the late 1960s was very classical: landscapes, still lives, ceramics, weaving and painting. Lambert feels fortunate to have had Karl Drerup as an instructor. “He didn’t have tunnel vision, everything we did was connected.” As a senior in 1968, Lambert received Plymouth State’s first Karl Drerup Award.
Lambert taught art at Newfound High School in Bristol for nine years before moving to the Laconia State School. Unfortunately, downsizing in Laconia left him out of a job and he went to work for Video Vendor in Tilton. Displays for the video store led to displays in other stores. In 1995 two friends approached him to make items for the Simply Christmas exhibit at Canterbury Shaker Village. At the time, gnomes were popular, so Lambert made wooden gnomes. Though only one sold, he discovered he enjoyed working in wood.
Lambert started looking seriously at folk art—who did it and why. Folk art reflected a past time and way of life. A discarded chair would not be thrown out—its pieces would be used, put together to form something new. He played with images, making cows, horses and pigs out of scrap pieces of wood, sticks picked up on hikes, and used wire salvaged from the dump.
Exhibiting at fairs, festivals and craft shows around New England quickly became a full-time job. A buyer at the Canterbury Fair show led Lambert to the Museum of American Folk Art in New York, which led to coverage in Country Living magazine. He was surprised that even at the much higher prices in the museum gift shop, the pieces sold.
“Nothing is calculated about my life and my work,” Lambert notes “Everything just falls into place; that’s why I am in awe of why people like my work. It’s just happenstance.”
For four years, Lambert ran his Folk Art Gallery (now closed) in downtown Tilton. Now he meets clients by appointment at his home studio in Northfield, participates in numerous shows and maintains his Web site. His pieces are known worldwide, from the “New Hampshire Cow” he presented to Governor Jeanne Shaheen to the “Holy Cow” that is now in Italy.
With his boisterous laugh, Lambert says, “My work is recognized at all levels. I hear myself saying it, but I don’t understand it.”
Donna B. Kelley ’70 received her B.A. in mathematics and M.Ed. in mathematics education from Plymouth State. She has taught in PSU’s mathematics department for 15 years.
