Tammy Jean Lange | 1958- | Madrillos, NM Found object environment | Created 1994 to present Along the Turquoise Trail, just outside Madrid, New Mexico lurks “The Bone Zone,” the ever-evolving found object and road kill environment/miniature village by Tammy Jean Lange, also known as…
Michael Austin Wright | unknown | Madrid, NM Metal sculptures | Creation dates unknown Along the “Turquoise Trail,” (Highway 14) in between Albuquerque and Madrid, there is a home with incredible welded sculptures. Cowboys, horses, and more… Alas, no one was home, but the view…
Phyllis Evans | dates unknown | Albuquerque, NM Embellished environment | Created 1994 Along Historic Route 66 and all of the great old neon motel signs, there is one particular motel that caught my attention…the Aztec Motel. Not only is the signage eye-popping, but…
Leonard Knight | 1931- | Niland, CA Spiritual environment – masterpiece | Created in the mid 1980s to present All Leonard Knight wants you to know is that “God is Love.” We arrived in Calpatria the night before and checked in to our motel. It…
Bert Vaughn and M.T. Ratcliffe | Bert 1878–1974 & MT 1882–1956 | Jacumba, CA Environment with rock sculptures | Created 1920 to mid 1930s My Midwest upbringing didn’t prepared me for the dramatic landscapes of the southern California mountain desert. The mountains looked like…
Niki de Saint Phalle | 1930-2002 | Escondido, CA Mosaic environment I am hesitant to call Niki de Saint Phalle an outsider, although she had a rich life surrounded by artists. But she is definitely a visionary. Tucked back in the Kit Carson Park, about…
Richard Margolin | dates unknown | Encinitas, CA Adorned home environment | Created 2001-2007 Another “believe-it-or-not-it’s-a-rental” amazing environment. And unfortunately it was dismantled in April of 2007, making way for condos and office buildings…. Luckily, we were there 5 months before the wrecking ball. This…
John Taylor | 1954- | San Juan Capistrano, CA Found object sculptures When you look at John Taylor’s ships, is hard to believe that they haven’t just been pulled from the ocean floor. (OK – you can believe it, but the patina is even more…
Miles Miner Kellogg Boat Houses Miles Minor Kellogg | unknown | Encinitas, CA Vernacular architecture | Built ca. 1928 Miles Minor Kellogg was an early recycler. Hailing from the Great Lakes area of Michigan, he moved to this Southern California town, bringing seafaring and building…
My flight landed in San Diego in the morning and I hopped in the rental and headed north to meet up with the guys from Rare Visions. They were heading in from the desert and we joined up in Lake Elsinore, CA at a…