Art Yard tour looks at lawns

It would be impossible to write about the Austin Art Yard tour without mentioning everyone's favorite ubiquitous slogan. Yes, the gardeners, junk collectors, artists, sculptors and other eccentrics who opened up their yards to the public on April 17 and 18 are keeping Austin weird. Sometimes we forget what that "weird" really refers to, which is why the tour was such an important reminder of Austin's vibrant culture.

Organized by Robert Mace and Scott Stevens, the tour was a self lead exploration of Austin yards where the owners have crafted them into something mor exciting than grass and lawn gnomes.  Calling themselves "yardists," the various homeowners have decorated landscapes that ranged from the blue bottle lined labyrinth of Mano Poderosa to Sharon Smith's impressive collection of ironing boards, rakes, bird cages, and whatever other items had inspired her collecting mania.

The tour was well attended with some houses getting a couple of hundred visitors on each day. Half of the yards welcomed tour participants onto the grounds to walk around and meet the homeowners. Others asked that you drive by but respective the privacy of the artists by not coming on to the property.

Unfortunately, the grandaddy of Austin's art yards had to cancel their spot on the tour at the last minute.  The legendary Cathedral of Junk has been declared a "hazardous place" by the city of Austin and though they were in negotiations to get it up to code, the tour's organizers were informed last minute that it could not be included.

Hoping to become an annual event, Austin's artsy yardists still work on their lawns year round, helping to make Austin's favorite phrase more than empty words.

Hanlly Sam    Hanlly Sam

Sarah Vasquez

 Sarah Vasquez