Detour Art

A curated guide to Artist-built Environments

region by region, coast-to-coast.

Dedicated to the sheer joy of outsider, folk, visionary, self-taught, vernacular art and environment discoveries found all along the back roads (and side streets).

creative finds … region by region

Artist-built Environments in the United States

Note: Things change, so check first before arriving. When visiting art environments, remember they are usually on private property, so please be respectful and don’t trespass.

“PECULIAR TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS ARE DANCING LESSONS FROM GOD.”

— Kurt Vonnegut

Road stories

Fox Point Art Yard - Mary Nohl

Mary Nohl’s lakeside cottage and yard are replete with sculptures, paintings, and decorative elements. Inspired by her life on the shore of Lake Michigan, Nohl used every imaginable material to construct a colorful and whimsical world. The yard features fifty-nine concrete sculptures, many figural and life-size. Inside the house, almost every surface is adorned; she hand made stained glass, painted her furniture and walls using carpet swatches as brushes, and displayed her paintings and ceramics.

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