Yard Sale Addict: 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.