{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"House of Folk Art","title":"Episode 28 | Cher Shaffer Returns: Visionary Painting, Folk Art, and the Day the Mountains Cried","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1380,"description":"In this episode of House of Folk Art, host Matt Ledbetter welcomes back Cher Shaffer, a self-taught folk artist whose work captures heritage, instinct, and raw emotion. Raised in Georgia with Cherokee and Melungeon roots, Cher has spent over 55 years creating visionary paintings, pit-fired pottery, sculptural dolls, and face jugs, each infused with personal and cultural storytelling.\nThis time, Cher shares the deeper meanings behind her most personal pieces, the pushback she faced from the art world, and her latest body of work: The Day the Mountains Cried, a series inspired by the devastating Halloween storm in Ashe County, NC.\nFrom the prophecy of her three thumbs to the spiritual process of seeing paintings before they emerge, this episode dives into the unshakable urge to create and what it truly means to be a visionary artist.\nChapters\n00:00 - Introduction: Cher Shaffer Returns\n02:30 - The Family Prophecy: Three Thumbs and a Calling\n06:15 - The Art That Sees Itself: Visionary Painting Explained\n10:40 - When Art Dealers Tried to Stop Her\n14:20 - The Day the Mountains Cried: Documenting the Storm\n18:30 - The Emotional Toll of Capturing Loss in Art\n22:00 - Finding Strength in the Mountains\n26:40 - The Future of Cher’s Work: What Comes Next\n30:15 - Final Thoughts: Why Folk Art Matters\nThe Family Prophecy: Three Thumbs and a Calling\nCher opens up about a family prophecy that shaped her artistic destiny. Born with three thumbs, her Cherokee grandfather declared, “She will do something great with her hands.” Though one was removed as a baby, Cher believes this early sign was a mark of fate, guiding her toward a lifetime of creation and storytelling.\nThe Art That Sees Itself: Visionary Painting Explained\nAfter a near-death experience in 1985, Cher’s painting process transformed. Instead of sketching, she began seeing shapes and figures appear on the canvas before she even touched her brush. This intuitive, almost hallucinatory approach became her signature style....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/V9-9EJUZ9R45flfIBnsuQ4AwapFGe_rYKiVr1IMQwbU/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzUxNTk0LzE3MTE3/Mzc2MTktYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}