BUFORD, Ga. – Growing up in Georgia, Steve Slotin, who co-owns and operates Slotin Folk Art Auction with his wife, Amy, is quick to say he knew the best swimming holes and BBQ joints, but didn’t know much about the visual culture of the South. It took getting fired from CliffsNotes in his early twenties to discover a passion for folk and self-taught art. The couple spent their honeymoon traveling around the United States buying art. They launched an instantly popular annual art show, Folk Fest, in 1993, and a few years later, began their specialized auction business focusing not just on Southern folk art but self-taught art from all over the country.
