Susan Kelley Harkey first learned about and started making corn husk angels with her young family. Over time, her designs and materials evolved into larger, sturdy figures. She gave them as gifts to family members and friends in times of celebration or as a spiritual or emotional support when someone was ill or had a loss in his or her life - Occasionally included with a note and prayer as an intention for health. The Angels are inspired by religious iconography from all faiths and belief systems. It is important to note that the emphasis of the Barn Angels is spiritual and is not tied to any specific religion. Over time she started to have requests for the angels and began to exhibit them in various venues around Vermont. In 2013, Susan used some of the proceeds from the Barn Angels to establish a national trademark and donated the remainder to Vermont charities.
Susan's process evolved in response to her own life experiences. Susan was becoming more aware of the harmful impact of many of the materials traditionally used in a cottage industry, and how they often ended up in landfills. Coupled with the increased use of, and lack of regulation and awareness of Glyphosate in her community, Susan made the decision to use only natural, biodegradable elements in her Barn Angels moving forward. Since 2016 she has only used compostable glue, cotton and linen thread, felting with natural wool and any dyes are natural plant based. Over the years she has learnt what materials dry well and are sturdy. Shells, stones, and driftwood are sometimes incorporated. Any additional structural elements added for stability are wood or bamboo. This led to an ever-evolving process of sustainably gathering materials from nature to use for the Barn Angels. This process has opened her awareness of the toxic elements in our environment, in the art, craft, and agricultural industries has informed her desire to move the Angels to being completely natural, as well as well as spread awareness of the environmental impacts of harmful materials often used. Every part of the Angels is biodegradable, even the scraps can be thrown in your compost.
The base of the figures is traditionally made in a uniform fashion with corn husks, additional structural support such as bamboo or wood, and some form of natural string, yarn or raffia as needed, and non-toxic, compostable glue as needed. It is important that the foundation for the figure is sturdy and will hold up over time. After the initial figure is constructed, the artistic potential for design is limitless. As part of the process, the artist sustainably gathers and sources materials from the environment, including reeds, flowers, plants to use for dye, animal fibers and domestic feathers, and more! Firstly, Susan wanted to ensure that Barn Angels were considered “figures,” not “dolls,” and that they were trademarked as works of art, and not as crafts. Additionally, the trademark on the design was intentionally left open-ended to allow for creativity and artistic voice in each Barn Angel. This reinforced the goal of each Angel being a unique work of art, and not a preset template to be followed each time. It also meant that they could be any size, include a variety of materials, as long as they were sustainable and biodegradable, and could continue to evolve with the creator.
From the beginning of this endeavor, Susan has recognized the community connection, and has wanted to foster that with other like minded artists, as well as spread awareness of the environmental impacts of harmful materials often used. Coupled with an ever-increasing demand for her rustic Barn Angels that Susan can’t keep up with on her own, Susan sees great potential for Vermont artists, as well as recipients of Barn Angels. Susan envisions offering workshops to find artists who want to learn the technique and philosophy of creating Barn Angels, including sustainably harvesting some of the materials. The trademark is very open ended, so there is potential for a great deal of creativity and artistic voice for each artist, as well as income and an opportunity to effect change in the use of biodegradable and natural materials. If you are interested in becoming part of the Barn Angel Community, contact Susan to find out more information.
To learn more about Susan's past work go to http://susankelleyharkey.com/
Barn Angels® is a trademark where the individual creations are curated and sold under the Barn Angels® trademark. A small percentage is put back in from each sale to maintain the trademark and the operation to promote them.