Yes Russ, everything you say is true as far as the art is concerned. But I don't see any of your criteria as appplying specifically to folk art; other than a lot of similar mistakes are made by untrained artists.

The creator is certainly a great craftsman. While the same thing can be said for some folk artists, there are others who, though they may lack some technical skills, can still produce works of great artistic merit.

Personally I don't see much evidence of ART in this creation for the very same reasons that you state.

I had a friend in Bahrain who was an Oud player. Now he had stuck some pictures of flowers on the sound board of his Oud. He hadn't drawn these pictures himself, he just bought them and stuck them on. Just two red flowers, one each side of the sound hole. The overall effect was great. It made his Oud look special. Now that is folk art! He wanted a certain effect but worked within his own limitations to create a very artistic effect.

To me the craftsman who built that guitar was just pandering to commercial interests, in the same way that some singers dress up in sequined jump suits. They may be great performers but they are not necessarily 'folk singers'.

Bert.