Saturday 2/23/08

Woodland Ave. – Woodland Hills “Yard Sale”

I really was not expecting much yard sale activity on this cold morning. But as I was driving back from Showcase Photo I just happened to notice this sale as I was heading down Cheshire Bridge Rd But this sale in front of an old ranch home. The sale looked like it had been thrown together in a hurry. When I arrived there a number of Latino families were poking about the assembled clutter. In the yard I found an old Peavey mixer, a trunk containing a confederate flag, some clothing and two tables full of countless small figurines. Leaning against the tables were a few original paintings of a woman. It was difficult to tell exactly what types of poses the artist was seeking to paint.
I bought nothing.



Artwork found near Cheshire Bridge Rd.

















N Virginia Ave. Virginia Highlands “Yard Sale”

This sale featured a lot of well-placed colorful children’s items in front of an attractive Tudor home. Leaning against the entryway to the home was a large pink kayak. Among the stuff there I found an oversized Xmas wreath next to a framed poster of Ernest Hemmingway, a weight bench, a child’s rocking horse, a large basket of golf balls, a support for a foot injury and some HVAC hardware. Some clothing was hanging from trees and bushes including a pair of glittery red shoes. One totally enigmatic item was a lump of clay with two straws stuck into it. The seller was asking three dollars for it. I bought nothing.


Red shoes in a bush.
















Massive wreath and Hemmingway.














Cryptic object in Virginia Highlands.














Sinclair Ave. Inman Park “Moving Sale”

This sale was posted by an artist on the Atlanta Artslist listserv. When I arrived there the artist a local painter told me he was moving back to Italy. The sale was in the front yard and porch of a rough looking Victorian bungalow. It was difficult to tell where the sale began and the normal disorder of his porch ended. Piled up in the yard were paintings, badminton rackets, rusty chairs, toys and some hardware. In the driveway were several well-splattered drop clothes with art supplies tools and clothing on them. In an old cabinet behind this was a pile of books. Among the books I found “democracy in America” two copies of “A Man in Full”, “Cabernet”, “Modern Painters”, “Fundamentals of Arts Management” and “The World’s Greatest Mysteries”. Things were more confused on the porch itself where artwork was mixed with attempted artwork, things that might be used in artwork and old furniture. Sleeping amid this confusion was a large black and white dog.
I bought nothing.

Porch with art, art stuff and dog.

SATURDAY 2/16/08

Yard Sales appear to have returned to Atlanta this weekend. Today I went out on my Saturday morning jaunt with a writer from Atlanta magazine who’s planning a feature on my work. Our first stop was just around the corner from my home.

Harold Ave – Lake Claire “Yard Sale”

This is a small and uneventful sale. Gathered around the edges of the driveway I find Xmas décor, some glass vases, luggage and kitchen wares. The Xmas stuff features a large standing Santa with an American flag in one hand. Far more disturbing are the two oversized decorative nutcrackers. One is of a New England Fisherman the other is Captain Smith of the Titanic. It’s very disturbing to think that a real person can be characterized as one of these bizarre holiday creations with scary teeth. It is equally upsetting to consider that the real person is one associated with a major calamity. I’m sure the descendants of Capt. Smith must find the likeness quite upsetting. It is understandable why no one would want this in his or her homes. Other things strewn about the driveway included a box of accounting textbooks, a ccase of votive candles, a copy of the “How to Murder the Host” game and a push lawn mower. In a small box I fund CD’s by Whitney Houston, Helen Reddy, Zootcase, The Cowboy Junkies and Sam Kinison.
I bought nothing.


Disaster oriented nutcracker found on Harold Ave.



















Boulevard – Grant Park “Moving Sale”

I attempted to show the reporter a sale on Whiteford, since I had told her that Edgewood and Kirkwood were now two of my favorite yard sale neighborhoods. But I could not locate the sale. So we headed south and sought out a sale in Grant Park. We first followed a sign that led us to a sale at Youngblood Gallery but no one was there yet. I figured the crowd there was up late the night before so we went to another sale that I had seen on Craigslist. The ad said ‘lots of motorcycle stuff’. I knew we were at the right place when I spotted several bikes parked in the back of a large Victorian bungalow. Coming in through the front we encountered two more bikes. On the porch of the home was a jumble of clutter watched over by a heavily tattooed man. Here were assorted boxes of what appeared to be motorcycle parts mixed in with several oversized plastic insects, art supplies, hand thrown mugs and a Sesame Street lunch box. On some shelves I found a toys duck with devil horns and the following books “Naked Lunch”, “Demonology”, “Watching Television”, “Free Agents” and “After the Plague”. There was also a fine selection of Halloween décor on the porch.
I bought nothing.
Plastic spider among motorcycle artifacts.















Green eyed skull and Sesame Street lunchbox for sale on Boulevard.


















Glenwood Ave. –Youngblood Gallery "Yard Sale"

When we got back to Youngblood the sale was open for business. I had gone to a sale here last summer and it was a lot more interesting. Some of this stuff appeared as thought it was left over from that event. I was sorry to see that a painting that I had seen at two other sales was no longer here. Most of the stuff here was arranged in a haphazard manner on the floor. Scattered about were various bits of hardware, an orange wig, boxes of tangled AV and computer cables, a sculpture that may have been a fish, a felt ball with a face on it and a bust of a child with orange hair and eyes. There were also two large cat figures with glittery faces wearing Halloween hats. I’m not sure what holiday the cats were designed for. There was also a template for some notable vertical street graffiti in one corner.
I bought nothing.
Grinning cats on floor of gallery.

















Fish thing for sale at Youngblood.














Parkwood Dr. – Druid Hills “Estate Sale”

I was glad to take my visiting reporter to one estate sale to give her a sample of how I function at inside the house events. But here only two rooms of this brick home were open as most of the stuff for sale was out in the driveway and yard. Parked at the head of the drive was a pickup truck filled with popular hardbound novels.
Behind it were several tables topped with boxes containing old hand tools and assorted hardware materials such as large hooks. Adjoining the home was an open garage filled with more old tools, gardening implements and a large magnifying glass. On a table in the garage was a stack of old political bumper stickers and an oversized post card from Hershey Pennsylvania. In the dusty light of the garage was an old full set of the United States Code and several high school Latin textbooks. Other Ephemera found there included a booklet entitled “What you should know about sleep” around it were old copies of Georgia and North Carolina travel folders and several booklets on girl scout camps in Georgia from the 1960’s.
Inside the home only the two front rooms were open for inspection. It was the usual setup for an estate sale with a woman sitting watching over, china, silver, cases of jewelry and various household items of household décor. Among the things found there was a plate saying “Mother is another name for Love”, three pairs of baby shoes, two large conch shells and a box of small catholic religious things including a child’s daily missal.
I looked over the stuff in he yard before leaving. Laid out on the grass were a milk jug from a dairy, an old library card catalog case, a stylized painting depicting a bottle of Korbel and a firecracker also in the yard was a rusting antique plow marked down from $20 to $25.
I bought a few of the travel brochures.

Brochures from the past.















Discounted antique plow.
















Artwork with spirits and fireworks.


















St. Augustine Pl. Virginia Highlands “Yard Sale”

After the estate sale I headed west to demonstrate to my guest how to find uncharted Yard Sales. After a dead end lead from a sign that led us to an empty yard we found this sale. In the front yard of a stylish 1930’s brick bungalow a woman watched over a collection of stuff dominated by children’s things. In the yard was an inflatable palm tree and an inflatable chair made to resemble a catcher’s mitt. Next to it was a child’s chair in the motif of some cartoon animal. The piece was covered in long fake fur. On a table was a collection of grim looking clown figurines. The seller said people keep giving here clown stuff because they think she likes it. She said she did not. Nearby was a framed print of a crying clown reading a copy of a financial newspaper. One of the headlines declared “Stockholders Close Circus”. Other stuff found in this yard included a box a children’s VHS tapes, an old iMac, a modernist figurine of a man woman and child, a telescope and a few books. Among the books were “Pocket mom”, “Stepmother hood”, “Into Thin Air”, “Darkly Dreaming” and “The Book of Questions”.
I bought nothing.
Faux fur children's chair.

















Collection of unwanted clowns.
















Unhappy clown perusing the financial news.

Back to the yards of Clutter.

Maxwell Ave. – Oakhurst “Moving Sale”

With the chilly temperatures I was happy to find this sale inside the house and not in the storage pod parked on the street. The interesting synchronistic thing about this was that the sale was in the home of the artist who will be exhibiting at Java Monkey following my run there. I immediately recognized his work for last year he had created brouhaha and a sensation for himself when the Atlanta Police department demanded that one his works come down since it carried a text message that was an indictment of police. (It did not help matters that the work was displayed in a gallery that shares space with the police department.) One a less exciting tone the artist and his wife explained to me that they were moving not for fear of the police but to escape the enormous tax burden of home ownership in Decatur.
On display in the living and dinning room of the small brick home was an assortment of children’s playthings. On the sofa were a large plush duck, a Ready To Read Robot, several toys cars and an astronomy play set. Sitting on a chair in the same room was dirty clothes hamper in the shape of Tweety Bird. Hanging from a rack in the living room was a child’s pumpkin costume and what appeared to be a child’s clown outfit. One the floor was a seldom-used looking croquet set and a large camping tent that may not of seen much use either. In the dining room was a mixture of adult and kids things. On the table was a man’s hair trimmer, some old Advantix film, two large candles, some unopened packages of VHS tape, a box that said Monet Memo game, a novelty 8 ball, and a child carrier with a DVD instruction manual. While I was there discussing Decatur taxes a buyer came in who started going on about his excessive taxes in Druid Hills. Later he asked if the seller had any old copper, damaged mag wheels or fishing equipment. He had none. I bought nothing.

Costumes in artist's home.













Duck on the sofa.













Avian shaped clothes hamper.















Euclid Terr.- Candler Park ”Moving Sale”

This was by all definitions truly a man’s sale. But some might see it as a grown boy’s sale. The moving part of the event related to a local martial arts dojo, it appeared only men attend this dojo. Out on the street in front of a craftsman bungalow was an assortment of clutter. On a sofa along the sidewalk was a massive collection of Austin Powers action figures. I did not know that Austin Powers could be configured in so many ways. In addition to these there were a few star wars figures, a plush mouse wearing a karate outfit, some Munster’s figures, and an electronic talking Gollum. All these of course were in their original packaging. In a large cardboard box on the sidewalk was an equally impressive collection of Martial Arts DVDS and videotapes. The bulk of the copies carried Chinese titles but one that caught my eye was “Shaolin Soccer”. I ignored the temptation to purchase it and continued digging thought the debris of this neighborhood Nerdistan. In the center of the yard was perhaps the most notable boy/man folly for some soul was parting with a handmade Star Wars terrarium that featured a glass enclosed collection of faux jungle foliage wrapped around a model Luke Skywalker carrying a Yoda on his back. Such a display could have been used to easily rid a home of women. Other notable objects included a large Kiss poster, a print of dogs playing pool, a full set of the Highlander series on VHS tape, several white martial arts belts, a few items of aquarium décor, an cheap Indian headdress, a few jigsaw puzzles and a book of Irish verse. Some items appeared out of place such as a filthy old toaster and an electric jigsaw. But most out of place was a cardboard box filled with black women’s halter-tops. When I went through this box the seller told me “I don’t even know that many women”
I bought nothing.


A full season of Highlander on VHS!













Beckham vs the Shaolin monks on DVD?















Diorama designed to frighten women away.













Canine hustlers captured on canvas in Candler Park.

My camera is repaired while others are lost

I got my Olympus SP350 out of the shop this week allowing me to capture unobtrusively the wonderful images you see in this web site. But in last weeks snowfall other camera owners were less lucky for I found three different signs for cameras lost in the snowfall. It seems that snow is such a delight and wonder here people can’t keep track of their photo gear. While sales have been in short supply there are still interesting things to be found in the street. Along McLendon this week I came upon this box of free rocks. Cindy felt obliged to take on but later deemed it too heavy to carry around.