Detour Art.
A curated guide to Artist-built Environments and other creative places.
region by region, coast-to-coast.
Dedicated to the sheer joy of outsider, folk, visionary, self-taught, vernacular art and environment discoveries found all along the back roads (and side streets).
What is an artist-built environment?
An artist-built environment is a space shaped over time by an individual — often self-taught — who transforms land, home, or property into a fully immersive work of art.
These places might look like visionary yards, handmade architecture, sculptural gardens, roadside installations, or entire landscapes reimagined piece by piece. They are usually built outside traditional art systems — without institutional backing, formal training, or commercial intent.
They are made because someone needed to make them.
Some are preserved. Some are fragile. Some have already disappeared.
Detour Art
Detour Art is my ongoing documentation of these environments across the United States.
I travel to these places, photograph them, and gather whatever history I can find — tracing origin stories when possible and returning when the light, the weather, or the story shifts. Everything here is hand-curated and personally documented.
Because many of these environments are vulnerable to weather, development, or neglect, documentation becomes part of preservation. I share my photography with S.P.A.C.E.S. (Saving and Preserving Arts and Cultural Environments) so researchers and restoration teams can track how sites evolve over time and, when possible, restore them closer to the artist’s original vision.
This work sits somewhere between field study, archive, and love letter.
Why these places matter
Artist-built environments expand our understanding of who gets to be called an artist. They challenge the line between art, architecture, and devotion. They remind us that creativity often happens quietly, stubbornly, and without permission.
Many were built over decades. Many were built alone. All deserve to be seen.
Artist-built Environments in the United States.
Note: Things change, so check first before arriving. When visiting art environments, remember they are usually on private property, so please be respectful and don’t trespass.
Hello, World!
Road stories.
The Magnificent Mountain of Leonard Knight
Bottom line is this, Leonard wanted everybody to know that "God is love." Some people would say it in church or a book, write it in letters or a song, maybe even paint it in a picture. Leonard built a mountain in the desert. Unbelievable. Over a hundred thousand gallons of paint (we brought him three more) went into the sculpture/structure. He mixed his own adobe with mud and hay that he found nearby, old tires and other castoffs from the desert helped him build his complex.
Temple of Tolerance - Jim Bowsher
Jim Bowsher, philosopher, artist and teacher, has dedicated not only his 1-acre yard and his life to creating this weighty symbol of tolerance. The hundreds of tons of rock have been intentionally laid, creating a jaw-dropping stone wonderland. He loves local history. He loves having it come alive for people, and not just being some stuffy thing in a book. That's part of why he built what he calls the Temple of Tolerance in his backyard. Well, actually, in three backyards that he purchased to make room for the giant glacial rocks that stand at the heart of it.
Sleep Outside the Box in a Concrete Wigwam
At one time, motels in this country were built with a little more character than they are today. Back in the 1930s, long before Super-This-and-Thats and Thumbelina-sized "free" cups of coffee, Frank Redford had a vision of Americans traveling the open road, stopping at night to sleep comfortably in his wigwam motels.
Bishop's Castle - Jim Bishop
Soaring towards the clouds for some 16 stories in all, it's made from stone; hand selected, hand carried, hand lifted and mortared into place by, you guessed it, hand. Jim Bishop's hands. He's been working the site for nearly 50 years now
Paradise in the middle of Kansas - Garden of Eden
This jaw-dropper is the oldest complete folk art environment in the United States, creating a creative epicenter in this rural Kansas town. OK, it's not exactly the exact Garden in the Bible, but Samuel P. Dinsmoor began pouring forth his vision in 1907 when, at the age of 64, he completed his Log Cabin Home, built from native limestone. Then, using the newest building compound of its day -- concrete -- he spent the next 18 years surrounding his house with a narrative sculpture garden.
A sparkling Museum of Self-taught art in Baltimore
When you see one of Vollis Simpson's whirligigs adorning the front lawn of a museum, you know it's no ordinary place. This is indeed the mecca for those who appreciate work by self-taught, outsider or visionary artists. AVAM features three full floors of art displayed in long-running shows that cover a specific theme like "aging" or "war and peace." Their permanent collection contains a number of works by Ted Gordon, Howard Finster, Gerald Hawkes and the Baltimore Glassman, Paul Darmafall.
