Travel Tips

As stated in my "Eccentric Neighborhood Art" tip about Portland, we can see some very interesting art in people's yards here.

In addition to the photos in that tip, this Travelogue will serve as a repository for those interesting and eccentric items that I discover all over Portland (and to some extent its surrounding areas).

Naturally, artists home studios are prime candidates for having various eccentric art scattered around in the yard, on top of the house, and even attached to their automobiles. This huge head was located in the front yard of a ceramic artist in SE Portland (near Mount Tabor park).

What the average tourist hears about Portland is, it seems, usually about 15 years out of date. Many tourists come to Portland and think that the "Pearl District" is the city's art district. There are lots of art galleries there, and there are still some artists with studios in that area. However, many artist have found it to be too expensive to have studio space there. Other artists never lived there to begin with. With the huge increase in rents and space prices, many artists are now scattered all over the city and surrounding areas. Indeed, many eccentric art works in people's yards, such as this one, are actually located in southeast Portland because, as rented space, the artists in the Pearl District can't do much to the outside of their buildings.

Many of these art works are very difficult to see if you drive through the neighborhoods, as so many people do. Some of these, such as the second floor lizards in photo #7, are probably overlooked by people who walk through the areas, but I can assure you that you are more likely to see these types of things if you walk.

Therefore, whenever possible, I suggest walking and looking around when you are getting from place to place in the "civilized" areas of Portland (that is, those areas that have sidewalks and are otherwise reasonably good to walk through).

Mailboxes are so frequently used as art objects here I could probably do an entire "Local Customs" tip just on those!

Here is one particular example I happened across on November 25, 2007 in a rather wealthy neighborhood of southwest Portland, but it could be anywhere.

Quite a number of Portland's creative class likes to work with recycled materials.

It should come as no surprise then to find old building parts incorporated into new artwork....and other features. Witness this fence that features windows from old houses. Not to mention the human head that enjoys looking through this window.

I don't know what to say about this one: maybe they are horse skulls, or maybe they are some other type of skull. Whatever they are, this house at SE Clinton street and 14th Avenue has always had something interesting at it during the past few years.

Some people have become quite creative with broken pieces of ceramic (plates, cups etc.) or glass or tile pieces or a number of other similar items mixed in with concrete. The results are usually quite interesting, and may be seen best by walking through some of the neighborhoods.

A neighborhood artwalk is definitely a good time to see what artists have decorating their houses. Some of them have nothing special (probably because they don't want to risk losing some of their valuable works!) while others, such as this southeast Portland home just north of Stark Street, have some very interesting creations.

Believe it or not, it wasn't a sculptor that created this thing either. It was a photographer that just decided to take some old junk that had accumulated and see what he could create. Many artists are multi-faceted, and certainly as in this case they sometimes wander outside their claimed area of fame.

Portland Open Studios is generally held in October. While there are some areas that can be walked, the fact is that these are artist studios scattered all over the Portland metro area, and there is no way that you can visit all of them and spend a reasonable amount of time at each place - even if you drive to them all. It is, however, a great way to see what local artists are doing.

Sometimes you have to look up to see some of the odd decorations on people's houses. These lizards are on a house near SE 25th and Brooklyn, and have been there for several years now.

I would imagine that quite a number of people walk past without noticing them.

Belmont, Stark, and a few other streets wander up the north side of Mount Tabor, and the neighborhood on the north side of Mt. Tabor Park has a number of unique houses that take advantage of the hill and the views available from up there.

This garage door is located on one such house. It is a little less abstract than the ecdentric door you see in the "Eccentric Neighborhood Art" tip

Other eccentric art works in Portland include:
Share-It Square (Portland's First Community Intersection), which was organized by local neighbors