Got Parts?

What better way to deal with left over and dead car parts than paint them, hang them up... and beautify the neighborhood?

1775 Cobb Parkway Southeast

Transmission tree front

Transmission tree back

If one transmission parts tree is good, how about two?

Transmission tree #2 front

Transmission tree #2 back

Made from Junk - Mailboxes

I had a wonderful sculpture teacher at the University of Virginia, Michael Christopherson.

Mike was from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He mentioned that there were a lot of mailboxes made from discarded tools in the South.  Fortunately, some of these improvised mailboxes are still standing.

Windy Hill Road

Kirk Road

(Thank you for encouraging me to pay attention, Mike!)

Mailboxes

I have expectations that keep me relatively blind sometimes. For instance, I pass a lot of mailboxes on the way to work; but I don't really pay attention to them. My expectation is that mailboxes look alike. Nothing to see here - keep your eyes on the road!

I think that mailbox design is predictable because mailboxes have rules. Mailboxes must conform to government requirements (for height and distance from the street) so as to be efficient for the postman. To comply with the rules, most homeowners purchase their mailboxes from a limited selection offered by the nearest hardware store. Nothing special in that.

A homeowner has to put some effort into having a mailbox with individuality. To really say something, he must challenge the rules and "think outside the box."

Somebody special lives at this address!

2519 Glendale Circle

Take the Exit

If you head North on the highway, you'll cross the river. Take exit #260. The exit ramp will send you up a hill to a light where you'll turn West.

Here's a picture of the exit ramp looking back toward the highway.

While you're stopped at the light, you'll have the chance to look around you at the stickers on the roadside railing. The railing has become a public forum. These stickers will tell you a lot about the area and what really concerns its citizens: The workings of democracy, commerce, and... well... you can see for yourself below...

  

Note that this is a "work in progress" and appropriately signed...

Welcome

Let me introduce you to my  neighborhood.

It may seem unremarkable at first glance... just an average community.

I didn't notice anything out-of-the-ordinary at first, either. Every day I moved through my community, from strip mall to office park, oblivious. My neighbors went about their business, living their private lives alongside mine.

Then, one day, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that struck me as unusual. I stopped and took a good look.  It was unusual. It was evidence.

Over time, and quite by accident, I have come upon more evidence. What is this evidence?  It is the proof, the sign, the signature (in bits and pieces) of the true nature of this community and the people who call this place home.

Let me share the view with you.