Buildings embedded in the sidewalk at Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, circa 1990

The Sidewalks of Paradise Garden

Among the most stunning features of Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden in Summerville, Georgia, are its sidewalks.  Some bear representational images of buildings, others are abstract aggregations of potsherds. Some bear text messages, others are virtual encyclopedias of Finster’s tools. These mosaic ribbons threading through the garden are a potent representation of how his creativity found expression in every aspect of the environment around him.

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Side-entrance-to-the-compound-St.-Eoms-Pasaquan-2016

Inside The Land of Pasaquan

Pasaquan, one of the world’s great art sites, lies tucked away in rural west central Georgia, near the little town of Buena Vista. Pasquan was the creation of Eddie Owens Martin, a local boy who went away to live the low life in New York City (by his own account), but came back and created a masterpiece. That Martin was a bit of a crackpot is hard to deny. A fortune-telling ex-street-hustler, he created a personal religion, enshrined himself as a saint and turned his family farm into a holy place. The strength of his vision is so great, though,

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Llangollen’s Carved Wonderland

Wales’ Plas Newydd was the seat of the famous Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby. Inside is their collection of old wood carvings from the 18th century and earlier (but no photos allowed!). Outside the house is covered with carvings, some placed after the ladies lived there and coated with heavy black paint. It’s a spectacular home in a spectacular setting. Plus, the story of the ladies themselves is fascinating — Anglo-Irish gentry who eloped twice (they were caught both times but only forced apart the first) and settled together in the Welsh countryside, where they lived a

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Bizarre Bazaars: Yet More Crazy Store Names

One more installment (for now) from my backlog of crazy store names. Find more than 500 other great names at the main Bizarre Bazaars hall of fame. Also: The Angry Chair hair salon, Newington, Connecticut Babies and Brats, Pawling, NY Bad Design, Switzerland Cafe Bong, Clark Street Card ‘N All, Closter, NJ Dead People’s Things, Denver, Colorado Heal N Cure, Northbrook, Illinois Here We Grow garden supplies, Hadley, Mass. Last Resort RV Park and Campground, Nashville, Indiana No Pork, Brooklyn, NY Stuff-It Storage, Hadley, Mass.

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Out of the Way Folk Art Fence

This pique assiette folk-art fence in Chicago’s wonderful Bowmanville neighborhood appears to date to 1973. It fronts a nondescript house on a nondescript, low-traffic street. Very few people driving by on the nearest thoroughfare are likely to recognize that they just passed an important folk-art site.

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