Dear Art Lover,
Mason
City, Iowa, is known as the town for homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and
his students, as well as The Music Man, Meredith Willson. [Perhaps
you recall the (musical) film with the famous tune “76 Trombones” or the lyrics
spoken by Robert Preston, “Trouble, right here in River City” as I do]. Check it out:
The great
fringe benefit to Mason City for being River City is that they have never
stopped teaching music at all levels in their schools!
However,
Mason City is also home to "Rancho Deluxe Z Garden" aka con affetto “The Junkyard.”
I was there visiting family and thus, my aunt thought this was a “must
see.” Perhaps you will agree.
What I
like about these sorts of places is that there is usually a person with a
vision. He has an overall concept, but
the details are rather open, as are the choice of materials for his 3-d collage
of “outsider art.” Sometimes they are
the work of one man, as with Solomon’s Castle in central Florida. I was told that “The Junkyard” is led by the
property owner, but that he invites kids and others to contribute their own
voices to the overall composition.
Whether or not the neighbors appreciate this look, there is a lot of
community expressed here in the shared effort.
I may not want to live in a place such as it, but I am very glad these
spaces exist.
 |
| hmm? Really the voice of the people? Glad it does not say, "SLOW Children / [image] / At Play." |
Ah HA! There appear to be plans for expanding the maze of cubes into the back section of the property.
This is the Vietnam Memorial. Sadly, there was a helmet and rifle that have since been stolen. My aunt remembered those more clearly than what is left there now.
Happy Birthday,
Skye in Oz!
My apologies from the long vacation from my
blog. I have been visiting family,
friends, my recent Kickstarter project supporters, and galleries around the
southeast and Midwest US. The amount of
driving I had to do really cut into quality time with so many people, and
caused me to miss too many others. I am
now getting a bit settled in Austin, Texas, and working here until early
September.
Peace,Kelly
~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor,
painter, writer, teacher
P.S. Here is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home (I did not have time to note whether it was his or a student's actual design.)
This is the Mason City home for Meredith Willson, the original Music Man in Iowa, USA.
