inspiration - lee steen

a friend mentioned that she enjoyed the little stories that go along with some of the blog entries. while this is not an envelope, i am thinking of using images on templates and folding some custom envelopes. lee steen lived in roundup, montana. i remember, as a child, riding in the back seat of the car, on the way to visit my grandparents on a ranch near lewistown, waiting and waiting to drive past a house that had a yard filled with wonderful sculpture made out of painted driftwood and found objects. it was a high point of the trip and i wished i could stop and look at the yard, but we always drove right by. as an adult, i was finally able to stop and take some photographs. years later, i found out that while some citizens of roundup thought the steen place should be bulldozed, other citizens thought lee's work was worth preserving and it is now in the paris gibson museum in great falls. there is one nice photo of his work at this page http://www.sumoflam.biz/LeeSteen.htm

while my parents did encourage me to get a degree in fine art, i have always liked outsider art and anyone who feels they somehow missed the boat by not getting a degree in art should look to the outsider artists and just enjoy making things rather than obsessing about the details. upcoming posts will feature my other influences. two people who are not outsiders at all.