foto by me at the Cozy Inn
What can i say?
we were looking for a place to eat
in the middle of Kansas
on our way to
the Garden of Eden
foto by me
at the Cozy Inn
they only have little burgers
they only have chips
they only have soft drinks
and theres only 5 seats at the
bar
Foto by Kat Livengood
now i know Kansas
has a reputation for being
kinda boring
but i found the wack factor to be
pretty high
for those willing
to get off the main road
Samuel Perry Dinsmoor
Picture from the Garden of Eden Website
Which brings me to
the Garden of Eden
a sort of grass roots folk art town
way out in the way out
wacky fringe of fringe Kansas
Samuel Perry Dinsmoor was born on March 8, 1843, in Ohio. He served in the Civil War as a nurse in the Union Army. After the war, Dinsmoor returned to Ohio and soon joined the Masonic Lodge. Joining this organization was a significant development in his philosophical outlook on life. He had grown up in a very religious home, but, like many who witnessed the inexplicable slaughter of the Civil War, began searching for other ways to understand humankind.
clik hear four more info check out their website
The Garden of Eden
foto by me
As some of you know
im not a big believer that outsider artist
still exist in the traditional way people think about it today
(there is an emerging neo-outsider conversation beginning to happen)
but Dinsmoor was something way beyond
even those old ideas
he was an inconoclast who had
ideas of his own that transcended
most peoples ideas of art
in that day and time
as well as now
The Lawyer, Banker, Docter and Preacher
When Dinsmoor retired from farming and moved to town, he build a house, the Cabin Home, intended to be both a residence and a source of income. For the exterior, he chose postrock limestone, the fine-quality building stone used in many commercial buildings, houses, barns, and fence posts in the area. His construction technique was unique, however. He had the stone quarried in long narrow lengths, some up to twenty feet long. The stone was then laid up with dovetailed corners in the manner of a log cabin. He designed the main floor with a mind to entertaining visitors, incorporating 3,000 feet of oak, redwood, and walnut to elaborate moldings and baseboards, To add to the unique look, he built no two windows or doors the same size.
Dinsmoor , the artist and social commentator, spent the years between 1907 and 1928 creating the Cabin Home and the Garden of Eden. He located his sculptural environment in a residential area, within walking distance of Main Street businesses and visible from the principal railroad track. It appears that Dinsmoor selected the location with the public in mind. The environment was a popular attraction; income from visitors' admission fees provided a degree of financial security for Dinsmoor and his family. He welcomed visitors and led tours of the site while the work was in progress.
Excerpted from "The Garden of Eden" by John Hachmeister, an essay included in the book Backyard Visionaries: Grassroots Art in the Midwest, edited by Barbara Brackman & Cathy Dwigans
Back of the Garden of Eden
Im always impressed when
people manifest a vision
something that cant be spurred on
or stopped in its tracks
it is part of a necessary reality that
they must bring into the world
Walk to the Garden
Kansas wasnt done with us yet
on the way home
we didnt make it quite home
we were still in the Garden of Eden
as they say
heaven is all around us
its just that sometimes we dont see it
even when we are riding in the front seat
of a Tow Truck
back home
burning old man gloom...Zozobra