Chalkware was first created during the early phase of the Industrial Revolution when traditional potters were driven out of business by the advent of mass-produced household objects. Starting in Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century, folk artists began to compensate for the shortage of traditional potting materials by casting their works in various forms of plaster, soon referred to collectively as "chalk."

Folkwerks Sculptor Peg McCormack works in the tradition of her Pennsylvania German ancestors. Each of her chalkware pieces are cast from molds formed from her original clay sculptures; unlike much chalkware currently on the market, Peg's work is not cast from pre-existing forms such as chocolate molds. Each Folkwerks product is a unique piece of folk art reflecting Peg's pride in the traditions of craftmanship inherent in her Pennsylvania German ancestry.