Friday, July 18, 2008

The World's Largest Collection of The World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things


Issam and Gigi were not the only interesting new friends I made last weekend. On Sunday, I drove out to the Illinois suburbs to shoot the Collinsville World's Largest Catsup Bottle Festival. (Check the link. This is too bizarre to explain briefly.) Collinsville claims to have the world's largest catsup (not ketchup) bottle, but actually it's a big fake, a model, over the Brooks Catsup plant. I plan to have it in a post in the next few days. Turns out there was also a great classic car and custom hot rod show, more about which tomorrow.

It was there I met Erika Nelson, a self-styled "outsider artist" who runs The World's Largest Collection of The World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things, a stationary/mobile museum in/from Lucas, Kansas. Lucas is WAY out there on the remote prarie. I mean, my wife's family is from way (no caps) out on the prarie in north-central Kansas but Lucas is three hours further drive. She travels the country in her way-out mini pickup named Scout, attending odd arts events, for example, those involving giant catsup bottles. I'll try to have more pix of Scout on my Flickr site by the end of the weekend.

And if you're ever in
the neighborhood of Lucas, Kansas, do drop by!


Scout's Left Rear Quarter Panel

WEEKEND PLANS: Wandering around the city-wide St. Louis artists studio open house and asking artists if I can take their portraits.
TOMORROW: Hot Rod Lincoln

2 comments:

Virginia said...

I have decided I must live in the most boring city on the planet. No refugees with blind cats, to gargantuan fake catsup bottles, and no funky decorated mini pickups named Scout. I must live vicariously through your posts every day. Guess I'll grab my camera and try to maybe get some good time elapse shots of paint drying today!

Coltrane_lives said...

A wild ride for sure. Dig the cat!