Along the Cane River, south of Natchitoches, LA, sits the Melrose Plantation, home of folk art legend, Clementine Hunter. But it’s history is extends far beyond the boundaries of art.
When you see one of Vollis Simpson’s whirligigs adorning the front lawn of a museum, you know it’s no ordinary place. This is indeed the mecca for those who appreciate work by self-taught, outsider or visionary artists.
In 1920, when Bert Vaughn started work on his Desert View Tower, people motoring across the mountains that jut up out here near the Mexican border inevitably needed a place to stop and cool down.
Despite being a California State Landmark, this folk art environment was dismantled. Luckily, some of the pieces were saved and can be seen in the California Route 66 Museum: “Hula Ville – Twentieth Century Folk Art”.
Some of my favorites haunts in Austin are on South Congress. If you are at SXSW, just walk across the bridge … Yard Dog Gallery 1510 S. Congress Ave. Austin, TX 512-912-1613 website Outsider art gallery Yard Dog Gallery opened in 1995, with its roots…
So, I thought I would stop by the Melrose Plantation “real quick” on my journey south. I had read a bit about it, and wanted to see the murals of Clementine Hunter. Little did I realize that I would stay the better part of the…
Fred Whitman, a dentist turned sculptor from California, carves Monday morning on a limestone post in a fence line 3 miles north of the dam at Wilson Lake. (photo by Tom Dorsey / Salina Journal) Who says facebook is a waste of time? (OK, it…
Jake (JT) McCord passed away September 1 at the age of 64. Funeral services were held at Zion Baptist Church near Lincolnton, Georgia. A native of Lincoln County, where he picked cotton as a child, McCord moved to Thomson as a young man and worked…
(thanks Bill, for sharing this) 9/18/2009 11:46:00 AM Brass Van, art car make local stop By Ray Gudas For The Herald-Argus NEW BUFFALO – Go ahead and stare. Hunter Mann, the guy behind the wheel of the “Brass Van,” as he calls it, knows you…
Randy, Mike, and Don the Camera Guy are back on the road (alas, sadly I can’t tag along this time – and it’s killing me!) I highly recommend following along with their adventures, as already they have been to visit Tammy Jean Lange (Tammy Tattoo)…