Folk art fence faces in South Austin

February 06, 2024

After a marvelously head-spinning visit to Austin’s thrifting treasure box, Uncommon Objects, I got turned around in its South Austin neighborhood. Cruising past a neighborhood day care, I spotted folk art faces on the fence and slowed down for a looksie.

Upcycled junk has been turned into goofy faces. It made me smile.

I mean, someone has been at this for a WHILE.

Nothing ends up in the landfill from this place.

Isn’t it fun to run across homegrown creativity? Here’s to all the artists out there, making, making, making.

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Digging Deeper

March 16: Attend the third annual Budding Out Plant Sale & Festival on 3/16 at the John Fairey Garden in Hempstead. Rare and distinctive plants from the garden’s nursery and from select plant vendors will be for sale. Additional offerings include art, ceramics, jewelry, food, music, and presentations. Admission: $5 for members, $10 for non-members, children under 12 free. Hours: 10 am to 4 pm; members get early admission at 9 am (memberships available on day of event).

April 6: Come out to Austin’s Mayfield Park on 4/6 for the Mayfield Park Gardening Symposium & Fundraiser, 8:30 to 11 am. This annual benefit for the park includes a raffle, plant sale, and garden speakers.

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

14 responses to “Folk art fence faces in South Austin”

  1. Barbara W King says:

    Terrific pictures! Pleae share location of this area. Thanks!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      I feel a little funny about sharing the location of a daycare, Barbara, which is why I left that detail out of my post, despite my desire to give a shout-out to them for the fun artwork.

  2. Oh my, what a delight! I too would have had to stop and take pix. There was a similar art installation in Detroit years ago, I wonder if it’s still there.

  3. Jeanne DeFriese says:

    A few years ago, someone made musician figures out of found objects, on the lot adjacent to gas pipeline easement here in way far south Austin. Sadly, they fell apart, the lot became overgrown , and the view from the road obscured that spot ( it was on the east side of Menchaca Rd, north of Dittmar). It’s been gone a long time and I still miss it, such a fun whimsical thing.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Such moments of creative surprise remain with us for a long time. Remember the flock of pink plastic flamingos at that nursery on 360? It’s long gone, but I still remember it fondly.

  4. Gail says:

    Fantastic. Now I must try to create something.

  5. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    I absolutely love to run into this type of creativity. I have seen some pretty entertaining art way out in the country when we are birding. It is always a fun surprise. Theses faces are quite complex. Someone has a great imagination.

  6. Carl Wright says:

    That upcycled junk is so amazing. And nothing at that place ends up in the landfill. It would bring much joy to those who see it.

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