Yep the word for the day is awesome. The afternoon of Tuesday June 22nd will go down as our first "Double Whammy". We set off after our silly lunch at Hillbilly Hotdogs for our first outsider site in Kentucky near (sort of) Morehead. The target? The home and environs of Cecil Ison. The photos on the detourart.com site were minimal but just enough to compel us to drive and drive into the hopefully not void.
Our love-hate relationship with our GPS (aka: Madge) has had moments where we have bowed to her Hawkeye level of intrepid scout greatness. There have been other times when the missive "Madge, you ignorant slut" has echoed through the truck cab in stereophonic harmony. This afternoon included both options.
After what seemed like a slow journey into the abyss, we finally rose over a hill and around a corner to see a cut-out rendition of dancing figures on the side of a barn just above a obviously hard working but now dormant tractor..... We had arrived.
To our left was a fence adorned with various colorfully painted discs and numerous dolls hanging from the trees; our eyes led us to the home and art environment of Cecil Ison. The many pieces were scattered along the fence, on posts and up in the trees. R. was off and shooting with a smile and bounce in his step. We had to be very observant as to not overlook subtle pieces mixed in with the dominant ones. R. snooped over fences and zoomed in for some shots. S. just could not resist and with curiosity in her eyes and the need to interact in her heart, she boldly walked right up and knocked on the door...... this courageous (I mean look around, there are burnt baby doll heads hanging from the trees) move resulted in being met by the friendly face of Bet Ison. She was soon followed by Cecil. By the time the itinerant photog had returned from fetching a fresh battery for the camera, all three were sitting and chatting on the porch.
And then it got good........
The conversation set into motion one of the best afternoons of our entire trip. There was interest flowing from all sides; them about our trip and us about their lives and art. Cecil is a very laid back and hard working (he had just come in from mowing fields of hay) guy and Bet quietly gregarious and talkative. We learned that this house was the home of Cecil's grandfather. We heard all about the family history and current situations. This quickly became a very comfortable and balanced interaction.
Cecil has a long story. He is a Vietnam vet and has had a significant impact on his life. He worked for the forest service in various and not completely clear capacities; mostly as a "forest archaeologist." He has long been creating these marvelous sculptural/environmental art pieces. On his business card he lists himself as "Hon. Cecil R. Ison - Forensic Anthropomorphologist". His fascination with discarded dolls has been long established. There are hundreds of dolls within his "gallery". In most cases he can tell you where and when each doll was found. He even has stories about them -- "This footless and handless Pee Wee Herman was found in the Ohio River; we think it was a gang related crime." In addition to the existing pieces, there are many items in waiting. At one point he took us to the upper barn to see a work in progress -- a soon to be carport roof for Bet constructed of one of those oversize obsolete satellite dishes but now embellished with bottle caps, stuff and paint; an amazing project.
The art highlight and greatest photo opportunities were to be found in the lower barn. In addition to what was held within, there were some wonderful paintings on the barn itself. Inside, there were dolls hanging from the rafters. All were hanging from old tobacco drying sticks high above. There were dolls on the walls and in the stalls. This is where Cecil went up to retrieve PeeWee among others for a closer look. On the bottom of his biz card it reads "A Baby Doll is A Terrible Thing to Waste."...... wow wow wow!
Mr. Ison is truly unique; as an artist and as a human being. He is modest yet engaging. He is quiet yet willing to answer questions. Recently they had visited the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore; he was impressed and inspired. He knows of some other outsiders and went to see Howard Finster's "Paradise Garden" many years ago. As Susan and Bet moved on to another part of the house, I sat and talked with him about life, art and just swapped stories.
There was an article written about Cecil in GQ October 2009. It is about far more than his current life and art. It is a fascinating and moving article:
You can also watch a short and entertaining video at:
Then in what came as a fantastic surprise...... Bet is a quilter. Yippee! Our first double hitter. After some focused time with Cecil, we were taken upstairs to see Bet's quilts. Her work includes some traditional pieces and some great art quilts. Her art quilts in particular are very special. She uses this art form to express her political opinions and emotion based beliefs. Many of these pieces are beautiful and poignant. Below you will find a few photos, unfortunately bad photos, of some of her pieces. It was not an ideal venue to take photos. These pieces are wonderful and it's a shame that they are not hanging on some well lit wall in a gallery or museum for many to see. Bet is a treasure herself. She is passionate and skilled. Susan spent a lot of time looking at her quilts, hearing the stories and even getting to peek at her "idea book". A real treat to hear how some of the existing quilts came into being and also see future projects. For a bit about her "Vietnam Quilt" you can go to:
From Susan: Bet too uses tobacco sticks to store some of her stash -- hundreds of silk ties hanging under the eaves. Bet loves using velvet, silk from the ties, and old jeans in her quilts along with reverse applique. As a former librarian, she is well read and makes intricate connections with ideas and words that then appear in her lovely quilts. She too is an "outsider" not having been trained in quilting but having learned on her own to implement her ideas. She generously gave me an hug role of cobalt blue ribbon she had found somewhere to help re-start my "stash" after hearing about the fire in which I lost everything a few years ago. She was a generous companion and I would have like to spend more time with her. She inspired me.
That is a very brief synopsis of an incredible and memorable afternoon. It was a privilege and honor to meet these to remarkable people. We felt welcome and it was so nice to have these be so open and seemingly as curious about us as we were about them. The Oddasee adventurers are recharged and jazzed-up!
Love and baby heads,
Roddy Potty and SusieQue
This is my wife's cousin, met Suzette in Morehead where I went to school some 30 years ago, much has changed.
ReplyDeleteJust to place credit where credit is due: Bet did the box spring / doll head crosses on the smokehouse wall as well as the quilts (though I would consider an argument that the piece in question is a quilt.
ReplyDeleteAwesome story, folks! You made me a little homesick.