Reading for 2/19

The first article, An Experiential Portrait of a Woodcarver by Simon J. Bronner, analyzed an older gentleman from Indiana named George Blume. Mr. Blume lived a long life as a farmer and as a worker at a furniture factory in Huntington Indiana. He began wood carving during his retirement. His carvings included all sorts of objects from his life, but he enjoyed carving wooden chains most of all. The carvings were a symbolic representation of Georges past experiences and his values. He valued "the old way" of doing things. He did not like the technological advancement that was occurring. Mr. Blume valued working with his hands. The carving were a way for him to escape from loneliness and depict his emotional feeling. Mr. Blume did not like getting older. His wife and friends had all mostly passed away, his physical health limited his abilities, and he feared death. The wooden chains symbolized all of his angers and fears of confinement and death. They also illustrated his skills at woodworking.
The article shows us that a person's creative output can be viewed as a window into that person's life. You were able to tell a lot about George Blume just by analyzing his carvings. As you got to know him more personally, you understood why he made the carvings and what they said about him. Folk art gives us valuable information about individual people and communities.
The second article focuses on two covered bridge builders from Indiana. Park County Indiana has many different covered bridges. The article explains why covered bridges are considered a folk item. The bridges were constructed by master carpenters. Each carpenter utilized unique techniques to create variation in every bridge. The carpenters learned their trade mainly from their fathers or other craftsmen. Technology has caused many of their talents to be lost forever. The passed on knowledge, variation of each bridge, and the lost art of building a covered bridge makes these bridges a folk item.

Questions:
What other types of items or structures could be defined as a folk item?
What are the functions of folk items?