Take a look at "The Eye of the World," housed in the back room of the Lone Star Steakhouse Seafood & Grill in Beaumount. This classic example of Visionary Art was carved out of produce crates by restaurateur "Poppa" John Gavrelos in the '40s and '50s, and takes the form of an enormous collection of miniature buildings and Biblically-themed dioramas.
Marvel at the insanity that is Houston's Orange Show. This artistic tribute to the orange was created by one man, postal worker (and former transporter of oranges) Jeff McKissack, over the years 1956 to 1979 out of materials he'd salvaged along his postal route. The 3 thousand square foot property, complete with multi-decked building, wishing well, an amphitheater (with seats scavenged from old tractors), a pond and an orange-filled oasis, fell into disarray after Mr. McKissack's death, but was eventually purchased by the Orange Show Foundation and now serves as a center where folk art events such as the annual Art Car Show are held (see Resources below).
Be inspired by Houston's famed "Beer Can House", the ultimate example of "reduce, re-use, recycle (or at least the latter two). This house, the creation of Houston resident John Milkovisch, is not only covered with siding made from aluminum cans, but cans have been used to create curtains, windchimes, sculptures and fences. Although Mr. Milkovisch is no longer with us (although he did stick around long enough to consume the entire 39 thousand cans of beer that were used in his creation), the House was purchased by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and, after extensive renovation, opened to the public for weekend tours in March of 2008 (details available on the Orange Show Foundation website--see Resources below).
Visit Vince Hanneman's Cathedral of Junk on the south side of Austin (4422 Lareina Drive). Sixty tons of junk and 20 years in the building, this towering pile of...stuff...manages to form a coherent structure that does actually resemble a cathedral. Perhaps the most amazing part of the whole thing is that it's actually structurally sound - its creator describes it as having been built to withstand Texas storms.
Say hello to Audry, the 50-foot-long concrete brontosaurus located about 3 miles south of the town of Canadian on Highway 83. Audry was sculpted out of concrete by retired highway worker Gene Cockrell, who's also decorated his own yard (in the town of Canadian proper) with concrete sculptures including a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Jesus, a family of aliens and Barney (of "I Love You, You Love me" infamy).
