Detour Art

Showman's Rest — Cemetery for Circus Folks

Showman's Rest — Cemetery for Circus Folks — Kelly Ludwig Because Hugo has served as the winter home for some well-known circuses, Mt. Olivet has its own "Showman's Rest" - complete with some eye-catching tombstones. The kind that celebrate lives spent in such nontraditional careers as lion taming, tightrope walking and trapeze work.

The Magnificent Mountain of Leonard Knight

The Magnificent Mountain of Leonard Knight — Kelly Ludwig Bottom line is this, Leonard wanted everybody to know that "God is love." Some people would say it in church or a book, write it in letters or a song, maybe even paint it in a picture. Leonard built a mountain in the desert. Unbelievable. Over a hundred thousand gallons of paint (we broug

Canos Castle - Dominic "Cano" Espinosa

Canos Castle - Dominic "Cano" Espinosa — Kelly Ludwig Entirely made of recycled materials, with more than 100,000 beer and soda cans, hubcaps, screen doors, wooden windows, bicycle reflectors and more, this amazing folk art environment was built by Dominic "Cano" Espinosa, a Native American Vietnam vet. Inspired by "Vitamin Mary Jane&quo

Davis Memorial - John Milburn Davis

Davis Memorial - John Milburn Davis — Kelly Ludwig Although this wasn't sculpted by a Kansan, it has a great Kansas story. You see, after a lifetime of feeling snubbed by his wife's family, old John Milburn Davis chose to have an incredibly ornate gravesite built, insuring that there wouldn't be any money left for them to inherit! It's a story told

Watts Towers - Sabato (Simon, Sam) Rodia

Watts Towers - Sabato (Simon, Sam) Rodia — Kelly Ludwig This iconic artist-built environment of towers were designed and built solely by Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant construction worker over a period of 33 years from 1921 to 1954, in his own small yard near the train tracks in Watts. The collection of 17 interconnected sculptural towers, architectur

Garden of Salvation - Kenny Hill

Garden of Salvation - Kenny Hill — Kelly Ludwig Kenny Hill is a bricklayer by trade. Working in concrete, he built life-size figures, telling his version of the story of salvation. There are angels holding horns, and angels with sand clocks, angels with swords, and angels playing harps. There are lost souls, world-weary people, and there are self

Second-Coming House - Prophet Isaiah Robertson

Second-Coming House - Prophet Isaiah Robertson — Kelly Ludwig Isaiah Henry Roberson was a middle-aged home builder from Canada via Jamaica when he had a vision that the world would end in 2014 near Niagara Falls. He began to transform his humble home into a multi-colored showplace of awe. It was a beacon to all to be saved. If you were lucky enough to meet him

Grotto of the Redemption — The Epicenter of Midwestern Grottos

Grotto of the Redemption — The Epicenter of Midwestern Grottos — Kelly Ludwig The eighth wonder of the world is in Iowa. At least, that's what the advertisements say, and who am I to argue with them? Rising out of the small town of West Bend (pop. 862), a part of Iowa where the landscape is seldom disturbed by anything larger than a grain silo, lies the Grotto of the Redempti

Temple of Tolerance - Jim Bowsher

Temple of Tolerance - Jim Bowsher — Kelly Ludwig Jim Bowsher, philosopher, artist and teacher, has dedicated not only his 1-acre yard, the three others he bought, and also his life to creating this massive symbol of tolerance. The hundreds of tons of rock have been intentionally laid, creating a jaw-dropping stone wonderland.

Sleep Outside the Box in a Concrete Wigwam

Sleep Outside the Box in a Concrete Wigwam — Kelly Ludwig At one time, motels in this country were built with a little more character than they are today. Back in the 1930s, long before Super-This-and-Thats and Thumbelina-sized "free" cups of coffee, Frank Redford had a vision of Americans traveling the open road, stopping at night to sleep comfo

Celebrating women, self-taught artists and the spaces they create: Rock Garden and Concrete Postcards - Florence Deeble

Rock Garden and Concrete Postcards - Florence Deeble — Kelly Ludwig Since 1935, Miss Deeble created miniature "postal card" scenes of the places she had visited or read about in books. Some of these included Mount Rushmore, Estes Park Conference Camp, and the Tetons. Florence worked the last 10 years of her life creating tributes to the Lucas City Band,

Celebrating women as self taught artists: Minnie Adkins

Minnie Adkins — Kelly Ludwig Minnie Adkins began whittling as child, back when women didn't carry pocketknives or hunks of wood. But that didn't stop Minnie from carving roosters and dogs from sticks whenever she had the chance. She's continued to develop her craft and her possums, foxes, and chickens, and more are prominently

Celebrating women, self-taught artists and the spaces they create: Quigley's Castle - Elise Quigley

Quigley's Castle - Elise Quigley — Kelly Ludwig In 1943, Elise Quigley asked her husband to build her a new house. Because she loved nature, she designed the house with 32 glass window boxes. When he didn't act quickly enough, Mrs. Q took matters into her own hands. She moved all their belongings out to the barn - forcing him to begin the buildin

Celebrating self-taught women artists: World's Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things — Erika Nelson

World's Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things — Erika Nelson — Kelly Ludwig Erika Nelson is a visionary artist, educator and one of America’s foremost experts and speakers on the World’s Largest Things. She is a national researcher and speaker on Grassroots Art environments, Roadside Attractions and Architecture, and the World’s Largest Things. Nelson is also the foun...

Celebrating women, self-taught artists and the spaces they create: Fox Point Art Yard - Mary Nohl

Fox Point Art Yard - Mary Nohl — Kelly Ludwig Mary Nohl’s lakeside cottage and yard are replete with sculptures, paintings, and decorative elements. Inspired by her life on the shore of Lake Michigan, Nohl used every imaginable material to construct a colorful and whimsical world. The yard features fifty-nine concrete sculptures, many figural...

Celebrating women, self-taught artists and the spaces they create: Mrs. Pope's Museum - Laura (Forester) Pope

Mrs. Pope's Museum - Laura (Forester) Pope — Kelly Ludwig Laura Pope built a sculpture garden that surrounded her general store and house in a rural area near Ochlocknee, Georgia. It once included about 200 accomplished life-size cement figures of famous women and heroes of both World Wars, Martha Berry, Red Cross, Gold Star Mothers, and many others, incl

FYI. Especially for those who donated to the Museum Restoration Project! Ron has started the cleanup and removal of damaged hay bales. This project will take time, but be assured it is happening.

This is how Dinsmoor created his beautiful log cabin with that limestone log that is 17’ long!! We are open everyday in March and April from 1-4 pm. On May 1st, we will begin our summer hours of everyday from 10am to 5pm.

Celebrating women as self-taught artists: Clementine Hunter and the Melrose Plantation

Clementine Hunter and the Melrose Plantation — Kelly Ludwig Clementine Hunter was a self-taught Black folk artist from the Cane River region of Louisiana, who lived and worked on Melrose Plantation. She started working as a farm laborer when young, and never learned to read or write. In her fifties, she began to sell her paintings, which soon gained local a

Celebrating historic, strong and brave women: The Controversial Gravesite of Sacajawea

The Controversial Gravesite of Sacajawea — Kelly Ludwig Two locations claim to be Sacajawea’s gravesite. One report suggests that Sacajawea died in 1812, from putrid fever, a few years after giving birth to her daughter Lizette. The record shows that the wife of Charbonneau, a Snake Squaw, died leaving an infant girl. There is no mention of Sacajawea.....

Celebrating women, self-taught artists and the spaces they create: Margaret's Grocery and Market - Rev. Hermon D. and Margaret Dennis

Margaret's Grocery and Market - Rev. Hermon D. and Margaret Dennis — Kelly Ludwig Between 1959 and 1979, Margaret’s Grocery was the only grocery store owned and operated by a Black woman along Highway 61. Rev. Dennis painted the building red, white, and some blue, but Margaret added the crowning touches of pink and yellow. "You can't have a bouquet of flowers without differe

Celebrating women as self-taught artists: The Quilters of Gee’s Bend

The Quilters of Gee’s Bend — Kelly Ludwig Gee’s Bend is a small rural community nestled into a curve in the Alabama River. The town’s women developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional American (and African American) quilts, but with a geometric simplicity reminiscent of Amish quilts and modern ar...

Celebrating women, self-taught artists: Tile House + Tree of Life - Beverley Magennis

Kelly Ludwig You can return to our homepage by clicking here, or you can try searching for the content you are seeking by clicking here.

Celebrating women in art. Queen Califia's Magical Circle - Niki de Saint Phalle

Queen Califia's Magical Circle - Niki de Saint Phalle — Kelly Ludwig Snakes atop the walls, fabulous mosaics and a giant eagle with an Amazon warrior guiding it. Those are some of the elements of the Magic Circle, created by Niki de Saint Phalle, a French born self-taught artist, whose large scale sculptures earned her accolades in Europe. Influenced by figures such

King of His Own Castle

King of His Own Castle — Kelly Ludwig Soaring towards the clouds for some 16 stories in all, it's made from stone; hand selected, hand carried, hand lifted and mortared into place by, you guessed it, hand. Jim Bishop's hands. He's been working the site for nearly 50 years now.

Detour Art — Kelly Ludwig Posts from the backroads: artist-built environments, roadside attractions, news and road trip tips. including legacy Detour Art and Best Road Trip Ever! posts from 2006 - 2012.

"Missionary" Mary Proctor - In the mid-90s she had been running a junk and odds and ends store in rural north Florida when she suddenly turned to making art.
- http://bit.ly/1qnh8Mj