This section is devoted to obsessive/compulsive building projects. Many of these are considered "scrap shacks": houses built from discarded materials. Other projects started small in the front or back yard and just grew to elaborate proportions. Most of these artists worked alone, some while maintaining full-time jobs. In many cases, retirement prompted a period of artistic expression. Sometimes these projects were undertaken after dramatic personal events (e.g., loss of a spouse or recovery from illness). These creations are often called "Visionary Environments", "Folk Art", or "Outsider Art" since many of these builders were untrained and had little or no connection with the art world. Many had no architectural or engineering knowledge and developed their own creative building solutions as they went. In some cases, the builders already had skills and simply used their expertise in creative ways. A few constructions done by "schooled" artists and architects are also included in this section. My choices for inclusion in this section are based on my own personal taste. For other interesting places, see the links and books at the bottom of this page.

My Pages (listed alphabetically by location): Ave Maria Grotto (Cullman, AL) Louis Lee's Rock Garden (Phoenix, AZ) Sunnyslope Rock Garden (Phoenix, AZ) Queen Califia's Magic Circle (Escondido, CA) Sunken Gardens (Fresno, CA) Watts Towers (Los Angeles, CA) Salvation Mountain (Niland, CA) Scully's Cement Figures (Willits, CA) Old Trapper's Lodge (Woodland Hills, CA) Holy Land USA (Waterbury, CT) Coral Castle (Homestead, FL) Bottle Cap Inn [gone] (Miami, FL) Paradise Gardens (Summerville, GA) Our Lady of Sorrows Grotto (Cedar Rapids, IA) Grotto of the Redemption (West Bend, IA) Rockome Gardens (Arcola, IL) House of Crosses (Chicago, IL) Garden of Eden (Lucas, KS) UCM Museum (Abita Springs, LA) Paper House (Pigeon Cove, MA) Can House (Silver Spring, MD) Heidelberg Project (Detroit, MI) Warren's Shangri-la (Prospect Hill, NC) Milk Jug House (Mays Landing, NJ) Palace Depression (Vineland, NJ) Thunder Mountain Monument (Imlay, NV) Bob Smith's Place (Liverpool, NY) Opus 40 (Saugerties, NY) Mushroom House (Cincinnati, OH) Hartman's Rock Garden (Springfield, OH) Totem Pole Park (Foyil, OK) Petersen's Rock Garden (Bend, OR) Griglak's Zoo (Perryopolis, PA) Zagar Murals (Philadelphia, PA) Corn Palace (Mitchell, SD) Porter Sculpture Park (Montrose, SD) Wickham Stone Park (Palmyra, TN) Beer Can House (Houston, TX) Orange Show (Houston, TX) Gilgal Sculpture Garden (Salt Lake City, UT) Tombstone House (Petersburg, VA) Walker Rock Garden (Seattle, WA) Wegner Grotto (Cataract, WI) Prairie Moon Sculpture Garden (Cochrane, WI) Dickeyville Grotto (Dickeyville, WI) Mary Nohl's House (Fox Point, WI) Hanson's Cement Figures (Nelson, WI) Concrete Gardens (Phillips, WI) Rudolph Grotto Gardens and Wonder Cave (Rudolph, WI) Other Sections: Bottle Houses (various) Miniature Villages (various)

Other Websites: Detour Art American Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, MD) Interesting Ideas Mosaic Atlas Narrow Larry Owl House Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art (Chicago, IL) Publications: Raw Vision Books: Architectural Follies in America, Gwyn Headley, 1996 Fantasy Worlds, Deidi von Schaewen & John Maizels, 1999 Gardens of Revelation: Environments by Visionary Artists, John Beardsley, 1995 Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter, Lloyd Kahn, 2004

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