CHAPEL HILL - Since she was a kid, Rose Rosely was making art. "I was always drawing wacky little characters," she said. "I would sit and watch 'The Flintstones' and draw the characters. They're really fun to draw. When I was in seventh grade a friend in art class said, 'You're going to be a cartoonist.' "

Rosely, 46, in fact, did become a commercial illustrator and drew backgrounds for animations. In her 30s, she worked in Hollywood for several years. Then Rosely changed gears, deciding to enter her 40s with a life change.

"I wanted to do something monumental," she recalled. And so she joined the Peace Corps in 1999, living in Ghana for three years and then volunteering for two more with an educational organization in Honduras.

The artist moved to Chapel Hill in 2005 to join her partner, Alison Erca. On Erca's 23 mostly wooded acres off Dairyland Road sit several buildings, including the farmhouse they live in, built in 1817.

Again, Rosely has found inspiration from wacky little characters, and flocks of customers continue to pick from the ever-replenished menagerie. Her primitive wooden cutouts come in the form of bright blue cats with green stripes, black-and-white chickens, orange dogs and human caricatures. The appeal is simple: You look at them; you smile.

Cowgirl spirit: Rosely, who was born in Texas and grew up in Michigan, has the optimism of a Midwesterner and the adventurousness of a cowgirl. "My first trip, I was just out of high school and my mom helped me buy a station wagon and I loaded it up with National Geographics and picked routes by looking at the articles," Rosely said. "I haven't changed a lot since then. I'm the same old hippie girl, even when I was in L.A. You can make all this money, but then you don't have any time to enjoy it."

Barn blazers: Rosely and Erca initially were running Dirt Road Gallery, down their dirt road and in their barn, where they'd sell imported artwork and gift items from their international travels. But that's on hold while Rosely travels to Michigan often to help care for her mother, who has been ill. Meanwhile, she keeps churning out her colorful characters, most of which she makes outside, cutting them with a jigsaw and decorating them with house paint. She varnishes them for outdoor living.

Cast of characters: When asked how many critters she thinks she has sold, Rosely answered, "It seems like thousands. ... But I keep coming up with new critters. Some people have a critter fence or playrooms. A lot of my customers are repeats. Then once they're filled up, they start buying for friends." She sells most of them at the Durham Craft Market, from a table next to Erca's, who makes and sells mosaic mirrors.

Polished or primitive: When the talk turns to Rosely's creatures, she hears one of two things. "Some people, fine artists, too, see the skill in it and others say things like what a teacher said to me. 'My third-graders did something just like that,' " Rosely said with a laugh. "They do convey simplicity and primitive art. And really when people say that, about third-graders, I'm honored. It means I still have the kid alive in me."

New paintings: Creatures aren't the only things Rosely creates. Give her some raw materials and she'll devise something, whether it's a little sculpture or a mixed-media piece. "I'm personally known at the dump," she said. Most recently she has been making abstract paintings on recycled linoleum tile squares, as well as some bigger pieces. She does those indoors, in the 16-by-24-foot studio she and Erca helped construct. "I began them last year and would like to expand in that direction," Rosely said. "My biggest worry is the idea of becoming an art factory. I have a fear of being boxed in."

No stopping her: Chances are, Rosely won't become boxed in. "I always have to be busy and doing things I enjoy. If people like them, I make more," she said. "When I discover something I like doing, I'm like a rocket. I just blast off and I can't stop myself."

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.