Walking in Candler Park - 6/16/07

This morning I went out with Cindy on foot to see what we could encounter between our house and a sale in Little Five Points. Without the aid of a car we able to visit five sales in a little over two hours.

Page Ave. “Yard Sale”

A large impressive sign on a utility pole next to Fellini’s Pizza led us to the first sale of our walk. In the yard next to the sale was a large faded sign that announced cryptically “try health credits” anther sign next to it had most of it’s message washed out except for the words ‘watch for sharks”. The neighboring sale was not as mysterious as the nearby signs. Here we found some framed vintage Coke ads and some antique map replicas leaning against a storage POD. In the front lawn were several boxes of toys and xmas decorations, a tire for a small car, several relief maps and a few tote bags. On a table were a catcher’s mitt, more old Coke memorabilia and two pocket calculators.
We bought nothing.

Box of Xmas Decor.













Tire found in front yard.














Oakdale Ave. Candler Park “Sale Yard”

As we proceeded towards Little 5 Points we came upon a simple but wonderful sign at the corner of Oakdale and North the said “Sale Yard”. As we headed to the sale I was disappointed to find that this error was limited to that one sign and that all the others used proper syntax. The sale was a small affair in front of a frame craftsman bungalow. Dominating the few items for were two oversized control panels. The seller told me he purchased these at a local antique shop and was told they controlled the HVAC at some now demolished civic arena. He did not state what he had used the panels for or what anyone could use them for. In addition to the oversized control boards he was selling a few items of retro furniture, some vases and a push lawn mower. Among a small selection of books for sale were “What Your 5th Grader Needs to Know”, “Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child” and “When Heaven and Earth Changed Places”.
We bought nothing.



One of two massive control panels sitting upon the grass.














Candler St. – Candler Park “Yard Sale”

A very colorful sign on McLendon led us to this sale. Here we found a delightful selection of disorganized goods scattered on front porch of an old frame bungalow with a wild and busy front garden. Among the random arrangement was a pair of rollerblades, a bread maker, packages of stick-on letters, a George Foreman grill, a pressure cooker, a tackle box filled with colorful lures, some women’s clothing and old darkroom equipment.
We bought nothing.




Porch crowded with clutter.














Assorted angling equipment on display.

Elmira St. - Candler Park “Yard Sale”

This was the largest sale of the day. In another bungalow owned by the manager of a local tavern was an extravaganza of all thing brew oriented and lots of other wild and confusing items. This was one of those sales where the seller had finally given in and decided she had had enough of all this clutter. The collection spoke of a lifetime spent with potent potables, signs, bar- wares, and endless promotional items passed onto her by beer companies over the years. In addition there was a large assortment of western style objects from a child’s backpack in the shape of a cowboy boot to naïve western artwork. Her books indicated a wide range of interest and lifestyle changes among them were “Roughing it Easy”, “One Pan Gourmet”, “Undaunted Courage”, “The South Beach Diet”, “Utah Handbook”, “Love and Desire”, “Rescue Dog of the High Pass”,” Stranger in a Strange Land”, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. “The Devil’s Flu”, “Cowboys are My Weakness”, “You Can’t Win” and “A Cure for Dreams”.
Some larger things included two plywood cutouts of Xmas trees, a brass bed and some retro kitchen furniture. Other assorted objects included a boxed set with the label ‘Candlelight and Music’. It included a candle and a CD of romantic songs. Also found there was a large wooden figurine of a frog in a nurses outfit, three boomerangs, a candle shaped like an iguana and at least thirty other candles or candle holders. She was also divesting her self of a large novelty button collection. Among her collection were ones that read, “Why think when I can watch TV”, “Are we over the rainbow yet” and “It’s the little things that mean so little”.
We bought nothing.


Multitude of beer signs on porch.














Reptillian candle.













Western artwork found on Elmira.
















Moreland Ave. – Little 5 Points “Yard Sale”

This was the sale that prompted our walk but when we arrived we were disappointed at the meagerness of the event. Here in on the front porch of another bungalow we found some women’s clothing, a box of shoes with massive heels, some plush toys, a microwave oven, a sad looking small Xmas tree and an oversized faux antique clock. Among some books were “In Cold Blood”, “Girl Interrupted”, “Zen Tarot”, “the Way of the Wizard”, “A Year of Living Consciously”, “the Passion”, and “Discover Your Psychic Powers”.
We bough nothing but in our disappointment realized that our walk was more important than getting to our destination.

Some well heeled footware found at our final destination.

Visions Fron A Yard Sale Addict - Nashville 6/9/07

The opening of the exhibition of photography from this site finally took place at Ruby Green in Nashville last weekend. I packed the Camry with 20 works and drove north arriving at the gallery on Friday afternoon where Cindy and I worked with the staff on the install. The day before the show received a large write-up on the cover of the living section in the Tennessean in Ms Cheap’s (Mary Hance) column.
The opening the next day went well with a larger than expected crowd, especially considering that the CMA Fan Fest show was happening that same weekend in downtown Nashville.




Photographs ready to be viewed.













Art patrons viewing images of clutter.















Due to the crowds in town for fanfest we had to stay in a hotel nearby Brentwood. With the artwork in place I had some time to visit a few sales in Brentwood and visit some Music City attractions.

Brentwood – "Yard Sales”

Being out of town I was not up to my normal standards of yard sale documentation. I was also a little off since the neighborhoods here were far more upscale and suburban to the typical Candler Park sales I visit every week.

The first sale was in the driveway of a large home in a new development. Most of the stuff here was new as well. Among the clutter I found a jigsaw puzzles of the United States, a ba-relief of two angels, a wine connoisseur’s gift set that appeared unused and a sealed roll of shelf paper. A few books included a cloth Busy Bible, “Mom’s Book of Answers” and “3299 Mantras, Tips, Quotes and Koans for peace and Serenity”.
I bought nothing.



The second sale was a little larger and held on the rear driveway and in the garage of a slightly older suburban home. Here I found a large assortment of Xmas stuff including some large homemade Xmas animals. But the seller told me to stop taking photographs after she may have seen me capturing an image of a dirty soup maker or the old Coke machine in the garage. She did not seem impressed when I told her I had a show opening tonight.
I did buy a laptop case from her for a dollar.





The next sale was more laid back. Here I found a large amount of wreaths made from dried tree limbs and twigs and a lot of rabbit figurines. Among some toys was a kit that allowed children to do a dissection of an artificial frog. I recall as a child I received an Easter gift many years back of a science kit that contained a real frog.
I bought nothing.







The final sale was in a little bit more urban neighborhood where among some toys, and kitchenware a large console organ was in the driveway. Cindy attempted to play, but. It was not plugged in.
I bought nothing.














Nashville Sights

That afternoon we checked out some other galleries in town and visited the Parthenon. Nashville has a concrete full size replica of the Greek structure that dates back to some turn of the century exposition when people had a better appreciation of faux classical monuments. The Inside of the edifice is dominated a massive statue of Athena done in the style of late 19th century carnival statuary. I am surprised that over the years Christian fundamentalist did not destroy the pagan goddess like the Taliban did with the giant standing Buddhas. Perhaps Tennessee is more progressive than Afghanistan.
Gargantuan statue in faux Parthenon.













A brief sojourn in Appalachia

The morning after my show opened we headed east and north towards the hills of Kentucky. Just over the Tennessee border we visited Cumberland Falls. Hailed as the Niagara of the south the falls is one of two in the world where visitors can see a moon bow. Unfortunately there was not a full moon the evening of our visit so all we saw was a lot of falling water in pale light. From There we went on the Corbin to see the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Here one can dine on KFC at the site of the original Sanders motel and restaurant. A museum is set up where one can see large tubs that once held the secret recipe, early menus, and various kitchen items used by Col. Sanders. Scattered about the museum are countless full sized replicas of Sanders that one may pose with or make offerings to. There is even a likeness of the Colonel made of eggs and copies of his Christmas albums. The food served there is no different than any other corporate KFC outlet.
I ordered the original recipe.

Replica of the Colonel in his office. Note hamster cage on his desk.














Elvis seen in downtown Knoxville. All travel reports of Tennessee are required to contain at least one image of an Elvis impersonator.

Cindy at Callanwolde 6 1 07

Cindy’s exhibit “Kodachrome Memories” opened at Callanwolde on Friday evening to a massive crowd. The Series of painting based on her father’s slides were well received.
I attended no sales the following morning as a number of here family were in town for the show. But I was haunted by the multitude of signs that I saw for sales as I drove to the B&B where her family was staying.
I bought nothing.





The traditional Dance of the Vase performed at the opening.













One of Cindy's paintings now on view at Callanwolde.

Driving through Alabama 5 27 07

On the way to the party in Huntsville we passed countless rural sales, which I refer to as perennial sales. Out on some country road the local folk just pile up junk in the yard, place a tarp over it and leave it there as long as they own the farm. Every week they set a sign on the road and pull the tarp off. I have no time to stop today, but every time I’ve visited one I feel as if I’ve been there before.

On the way back we had a bit more time and stopped at one may have been the most decrepit flea market in America. I will refrain from revealing the name of the location (to save embarrassment to the town fathers) other than that’s its in north east Alabama. At this site resembling something left over from a Mad Max film I found hordes of people walking around eating corn on a stick walking past puppies in small cages being sold next to Confederate ready to wear, scary food booths, piles of oversized cook pots, Mexican bootleg DVDs, unrecognizable vegetables, boxes of cheap toys from China and an assortment of knives and other sharp objects. I did appreciate the site for it’s unique culture but Cindy lost faith when she saw a live peacock wrapped in a plastic sack. But Cindy did dare to use the sanitary facilities on the location.
We bought nothing.

Geese kept in the shade of a pickup truck.



















Chinese duckies in a box.














Decrepit food stand.













Far more decrepit sanitary facilities.

Saturday 5 26 07

This weekend Cindy and I are going to Huntsville to attend my nephew's wedding reception. Under the guise of going to the bank I find time to stop at one sale in the neighborhood.

Benning St. - Candler Park “Yard Sale”


Assortment of book on dead end street.I’ve lived in this neighborhood over a dozen years and I never knew this end of Benning St existed. The sale was on a stub of Benning running off of Oakdale with six or seven new infill homes on it. It must have been one of those alleys that overnight became a realtor’s reality. The sale was at the house at the end of the street in their side yard. Most of the stuff here was fairly new as one would expect from and infill home. Scattered about the yard, hanging from the rear fence and arrayed on a wooden deck I found kitchen-wares, women’s clothing, and a few pieces of furniture. I noted that there seemed to be a larger than usual assortment of objects shaped like chickens including a lifelike feather covered rooster. While I was there nearly every person at the sale picked up this fowl replica at one point. But no one appeared to have the nerve to buy it. On the same table as this rooster was another chicken bedecked in some sort of Victorian gown. No one bought that one either. Scattered across several large sheets of plywood in the yards was a massive assortment of books. Titles on women’s issues predominated but among the many volumes I found “Women of Faith”, “Bachelor Girls”, “The First Book Market”, “Panic Anxiety Disorders”, “Look at My Ugly Face”, “Feel the Fear and Beyond”, “Rage for fame’, “Women of the Left bank” “The Brain Diet”, “How Much Joy Can You Stand?” “Living Alone and Loving it”, “The Best Cat Ever”, “Simple Living and “The Bitch in the House”.

I bought nothing.

Chicken everyone loved to pickup.













A better dressed fowl.