Hong Kong Willie

On the corner of Fletcher Avenue and Morris Bridge Road in Tampa is possibly the largest collection of styrofoam buoys I've ever seen unattacted to a fishing fleet. This is Hong Kong Willie. Surrounded by an interstate highway, a corporate business park, and national chain hotels, the orange helicopter on a flat-bed truck festooned with a web of fairy lights does catch the eye. The Hong Kong Willie blog has links to interviews and news stories outling the Hong Kong Willie philosophy of reuse, and tracing the evolution from bait shop to art studio.

Hong Kong Willie Preservation Art Group (audio / slide show from WUSF)

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Added May 2, 2009

My husband took an unblurry photo of the helicopter, so I've added it here:

Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival

This weekend was the annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival, in the fishing community of Cortez, of course. Lots of people, lots of seafood, some music, some art, and a nice time. We had peel-and-eat shrimp down on the fish house docks, while watching the pelicans, seagulls, and egrets stir up a ruckus. MoJo (Morris Johnson)'s paintings made me smile. He's a clam farmer and a folk artist, and with that combination, I suspect a sense of humor comes in handy.

Here is the 1912 Cortez Rural Graded Schoolhouse, once used as a school, then as an art school, and as the home and studio of weaver Robert Sailors. In 1999, Manatee County purchased the school, and recently renovations were completed. It is now the home of the Florida Maritime Museum.














Here's a boat used by Cuban refugees to cross the Straits of Florida. It's been fixed up by the craftsmen at the museum's boat works- you can see a "before" picture on their website.


















The festival is a great time to visit Cortez, but then, any day is. Stop by sometime and visit the museum, learn how to make a wooden boat, have lunch at the docks, and take some fresh seafood home for dinner.

Taft Richardson, Jr.

Folk artist Taft Richardson, Jr., known for his community service as well as his sculptures made from animal bones, passed away in Tampa earlier this week. Spirituality infused his work, which is well illustrated by this website by Folkvine.


Further reading:

"Taft Richardson Jr.: Bones spoke to artist " (St. Petersburg Times, December 3, 2008)

"Bones of invention" (by Jeff Klinkenberg, St. Petersburg Times, August 13, 2006)


From the library:

Extraordinary Interpretations: Florida's Self-Taught Artists (by Gary Monroe, University Press of Florida, 2003)

Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Art (by Kristin G. Congdon and Tina Bucuvalas, University Press of Mississippi, 2006)

Florida's Architectural Follies

I'm amused and bemused by architectural folles, those outlandish or unusual constructions that step outside the square design box. Different people define architectural follies in different ways -- do these constructions have to be impractical or foolish? Do they have to be expensive or lose money for their builders?

Gwyn Headley, in Architectural Follies in America (John Wiley & Sons, 1996) considers follies as "...structures that are not ordinary buildings but are edifices that transcend the banal, the commonplace, the simply utilitarian. ... Architectural follies transcend barriers of style, time, taste, and nationality. They spring from those most human of emotions: vanity, pride, passion, and obsession." Sounds like something we just might see in Florida.

And, indeed, Headley mentions several follies in this state. In Florida, with exotic images and people seeking to escape from the ordinary, the line between unusual and folly is slim. But here are some of the structures Headley lists, with links to more information or images:

Ca'd'Zan
Castle Otttis
Coral Castle
Dragon Point
Solomon's Castle
Venetian Pool

Vizcaya

Xanadu

I can think of several others, but do you have any favorite Florida follies?

"Song of the Hillsborough"

One of my favorite public art pieces in Tampa is at the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library on Bearss Avenue. "Song of the Hillsborough" is a poem about the Hillsborough River, written by Tampa's poet laureate James Tokley, and it is also a series of panels painted by local folk artist Mr. B (Jack Beverland). These panels are arrayed throughout the library with stanzas of the poem below. While the art really should be seen in person to be truly appreciated -- Mr. B. uses puff paint so there is a textural 3-D quality to his work -- you can also enjoy their joint efforts on the library's website. (link to "Song of the Hillsborough," use the green arrows under the picture to go to the next frame)