41 American Folk Art Traditions

Folk art is different from fine art or high art. Folk means “of the people.” It is
art created by people who were not trained as artists. Folk art is often useful, rather
than a piece to be admired. 1.______Two objects that became American folk art are
quilts and decoys.
A quilt is a large piece of fabric, usually meant to cover a bed. A typical type of
American quilts is a piece quilt. Piece quilts are made by sewing different pieces of
fabric into a pattern. 2._____ Quilts were often made by women, either alone or in
groups, and were often given as gifts. Beautiful, complex quilts were treasures that
were passed down from parents to children in family. 3._______African-American
quilts sometimes tell stories, while Amish quilts are often plain and less colorful.
Another very typical American folk art object is the decoy. Decoys are objects
made of wood that are painted and designed to look like ducks and other waterbirds.
4._______The first English settlers learned the skill from the Native Americans.
Though decoys were useful objects, some of them were painted very beautifully and
realistically. 5.______Decoys from different parts of America have different styles of
carving and painting. They tell a story about their small part of the world, just as the
quilts do.

A. Like most folk art, each decoy represents the region in which it was made.
B. African-American developed their own style of quilting, as did the Amish.
C. Some patterns show stars; some show snowflakes. Some are simple, and
some are very complex.
D. It can show what objects people used and valued in a particular time and
place.
E. They were first used by Native Americans to attract birds.

Vocabulary
1. folk 2. admire
3. fabric 4. pattern
5. complex 6. pass down
7. treasure 8. plain
9. typical 10. realistic
11. carve 12. sew
 42. Coptic Churches in Egypt
When you think of Egypt, you probably think of camels and1._____________, not
churches. But Egypt has many ancient churches. Christianity has been in Egypt
almost since it began. The Christian Bible says that the2._______________—Mary,
Joseph, and Jesus—traveled to Egypt. They were looking for safety. So there has been
Christianity in Egypt since the first century, AD.
But Coptic Christianity is somewhat different from Western Christianity. The
Coptic Church actually 3.____________from most Western Churches in AD451.
Coptic Christians and other Christians still share many of the same beliefs, though.
They believe in the Bible and the same 4.____________.
Coptic churches are present all over Egypt, from the capital city to small
villages. Many Coptic churches were first built inside other buildings. Most use
traditional Egyptian building 5.___________: they may be small, made of mud-brick,
and they may have very thick walls to keep out the heat. Some Coptic churches have
elaborate carvings on their doors and 6.____________. Most Coptic churches
decorated beautifully on the inside. Because Coptic Christians were often persecuted,
they made their churches 7.____________ to keep from drawing attention.
Inside, Coptic churches and other churches are very similar, though there are
still some differences. Coptic churches, for example, have three altars, rather than
one. They may use 8.____________instead of stained glass to create pictures. But
they have frescoes like many other Eastern Christian Churches, and detailed screens
separate different parts of the church.
The Copts are some of the oldest Christians in the world, though their
neighbors now are mostly 9.___________. It is easy to forget how
10._____________countries and regions can be. Remembering and learning about
Coptic Christians may help us to remember how varied our world really is.

split pillars Holy Family plain pyramids

methods prophets Muslim mosaics diverse

Vocabulary
1. ancient 2. prophets
3. method 4. heat
5. mud-brick 6. elaborate
7. persecute 8. altar
9. stain 10. fresco
11. diverse 12. virgin