Sign language

November 12, 2012

Our new farm sign is up on the barn across the field from the dairy.

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The farm signs are carved by folk artist Three Finger Bil, who is one of the first people I met in California. At the time he was the caretaker of Pigeon Point lighthouse, when it was not owned by the state, and spent his days carving furniture and his evenings making music with traveling musicians and the young women traveling along the California coast. Happy days.

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This is the first farm sign, with our jumpy goat. TFB keeps the signs simple and arrestingly visual. He made the prototype of our farm goat milk paint and painted the signs. They return to him every few years for a fresh coat.

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TFB carves our signs (and furniture) on a Pescadero ranch

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This year’s signs are painted in the farm paint now on sale in our shop. This one is glossy with a rub of black soap

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TFB’s studio is crammed with farm projects and prototypes, plus his plants and his ranch cats

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Quirky sign

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I love this sign. You can see that the goats have nibbled the pointing finger as they come out of the milking parlor

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TFB’s own sign (right) on all the hayloft chairs, with R for Roberto, who helped with the carving

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Signmaker in his own chair