Today Joe told me that he had a surprise to take me to. So I hopped in the car and we drove about an hour and 40 minutes over to Lucas, KS. Someone in his class told him that if you like art, this is the place to see. It’s a town that has truly embraced grassroots art. It has a very fun and positive atmosphere and is definitely worth the trip.
Our first stop was the Grassroots museum. This is a bubble machine:) You turn it on and it just bubbles over, like a fountain.
The work of M.T. Liggett, a man with some very strong viewpoints! He has a GIANT collection of these sculptures that he makes and puts them all down the roadway on his property. I overheard an older lady who was also on the tour say that she believed he has “haints” in his head haha!
This is the courtyard outside with some excellent examples of native Kansas limestone structures.
I really enjoyed the humor in a lot of the pieces:) So many of them had little punchlines.
This is the work of Inez Marshall Everything is carved out of the native limestone and painted. All of the little buildings are completely staged inside too and most of them light up!
Inside the little church:)
There were also some fantastic wood carvings
This was hooked up to a pulley system and moved.
I Loved the expressions on these little walnut guys:)
Their newest piece- a little mini theater with a working screen.
Joe playing the name game. Some of them were really clever!
This is the house of Florence Deeble. The house has been converted into one GIANT exhibit by Mri-Pilar. We had the good fortune to come on a day that Pilar was adding to her exhibit and she gave us a personal tour of her work, which made it much more meaningful. Most of the work is dedicated to the goddess, Isis, and the coming of aliens. It was quite fascinating and the scope of it had a very impactful effect!
In addition to her work with dolls, Pilar is a wonderful mosaic artist. She remade the crumbling stairs into the house into a cheerful and welcoming entry.
The house is lined with various metallic insulation and aluminum foil and every corner is covered in various pieces to make up a giant cohesive unit. The effect when you walk in is overwhelming!
This is Isis, herself
Pilar in the kitchen explaining her work
Out in the garden is Mrs. Deeble’s own installations. She had a local neighborhood boy help her mix up concrete into little vignettes of places that she liked. There are also random historical sculptures that she’s named after various people around town.
And this is the house that started it all. The Garden of Eden- a giant mass of concrete sculptures surrounding an intricate “log” cabin made all out of limestone by Mr. Dinsmoor
He deliberately built this house to be a tourist attraction and gave regular tours of the unique interior along with his politically driven concrete sculptures. He was so dedicated to his work that he even built a giant mausoleum in the garden and he is mummified and entombed there, along with his wife. You can even go inside the mausoleum and view his body, which resides inside a glass topped concrete casket. (He is pretty well preserved for a guy who has been gone for close to a century!)
Another interesting studio on Main street
And the town just wouldn’t be complete without a public bathroom in the shape of a toilet, complete with unfurling roll of concrete toilet paper:)
What a fun, and quirky place. I’m glad that Joe thought to bring me here:) After walking around a bit, we stopped at a diner, complete with stools at the counter, at the “fillin’ station” and I had a very delicious open face roast beef sandwich. And the views on the drive back didn’t hurt either.
