Brian Andreas (B 1956) American, Folk Art Box with "Stories" and Portrait. Signed lower left of inside front panel beneath poem. Signed and dated 25 July 1995 on back. Inscribed number 9 on back. Uses mixed media to create a story with poetry and imagery in various compartments.

Size: 27 X 8 1/2 X 3 1/2 in.

#1629 .

Brian Andreas was born in Iowa City in 1956 and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He received his BA in Theater and English from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa in 1979, and his MFA in Fiber and Mixed Media in 1992 from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California. In 1994 he founded StoryPeople to distribute his artwork. He became known for his 50 to 100 word poems typically written in a wry, comic, or contemplative style, often accompanied by distinctive color drawings. His two dimensional work is mainly gouache watercolors with original texts. His sculptures incorporate reclaimed wood in lyrical and representational shapes, with colorful drawings and handwritten text in graphite. The sculptures went out of production at StoryPeople in June 2015, and in 2019 he legally changed his name to Kai Andreas Skye after a contentious divorce ended with him no longer holding any rights to his art and writing at that company before September 2012. All of his new work is published by Flying Edna Productions, a company he started with his new wife Fia in Massachusetts. The signature and date on this piece indicates it is one of his earliest creations while at StoryPeople.