Cutting a path through Constitution Lakes Park – not far from Downtown Atlanta, Georgia — is a mysteriously intriguing trail, known as the Doll’s Head Trail. It is a treasure trove of enchanting outsider art. Local carpenter Joel Slaton began the project as a showcase for discarded doll parts in 2011. Since then, visitors have contributed their own found art, many accompanied with titles or messages.

Spun Out

A Washed-Up Rocker with a Bone to Pick

Hear Say

History shows again & again how nature points out the folly of men

Avoid the Opioid Noid!!

Rosie in Retirement

Photo credits: 1, 2, 4, 5 & 7 Lois Stavsky 3 & 6 Tara Murray 

While visiting Gallery 128 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side last week, I was charmed by a series of portraits forged by the self-taught Caribbean artist Carl “Woolly” Hewitt. Fashioned with wool, they exude a distinctly earthy charm and raw beauty. Based in Barbados, the artist had always loved to draw, but it was only several years ago that he began creating portraits with wool. Mr. Hewitt refers to himself as “the king of wool” or “the wool man,” claiming to be “the only wool artist in the world.” Featured above is Mildred. Several more portraits follow:

Crazy Inez

Bonco Dread

Lost George

Gold Teeth

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

Featured above is a close-up from a huge unsigned mural in Madrid, Spain featuring African refugees seeking shelter. Several more images of folks on the move — that I’ve come upon in my recent travels — follow:

A larger segment of the Madrid mural picturing African refugees

Argentine Naive artist Eduardo Ungar, “Musicians’ Moving Day”, as seen at Gina Gallery of International Naive Art

Self-taught Argentine artist Barbara Siebenlist, close-up from huge mural in Madrid, Spain

Ora Segalis, Skating Girl, as seen in the Ein Hod Artists Village in Northern Israel

The late Gernan-born Mexican artist  Mathias Goeritz, “Under the Moon,” as seen at Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid

Tel Aviv-based Leo Ray— whose works are largely marked by a distinct Naive aesthetic, “Postman”

Photos by Lois Stavsky

Thousands of folks – religious and secular, Jews and Arabs — with a range of disabilities have found a wonderfully warm, welcoming and nurturing home with Shekel, an organization enabling full inclusion of people with special needs within the general community.  Among the many services and activities provided by Shekel are art workshops. While visiting its Talpiot, Jerusalem headquarters earlier this week, I came upon a delightfully diverse selection of portraits created by people with special needs. What follows is a sampling:

And on a slightly different note —

Located at 11 Yad Harutzim Street in Jerusalem’s Talpiot neighborhood, Shekel also houses a first-rate dairy restaurant/cafe and welcomes visitors.

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky 

The wonderfully inventive face pictured above was forged by Haitian artist Lionel Paul aka Onel with recycled textile art, sawdust, found objects and glue. Several more faces fashioned largely by Outsider artists — or by those who have embraced an Outsider sensibility — follow:

Chicago native Gregory Warmack aka Mr. Imagination, as seen earlier at Chicago’s Intuit

Israeli artist Elana Gil, as seen at Ein Hod Central Gallery in the Ein Hod Artists’ Village in the Haifa District

The legendary native Brooklynite Basquiat, as seen at Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art

Tel Aviv-based Yarin Didi on the streets of his city

Parisian artists Noty and Aroz, as seen on the streets of Lisbon, Portugal

Photo credits: 1-5 Lois Stavsky & 6 Sara C. Mozeson

Artists – both self-taught and academically trained — are increasingly fashioning art with objects or materials that have been discarded. The image pictured above is from an assemblage forged by Portuguese artist Bordallo II –on view at Wynwood Walls in Miami, Florida. Several more images of upcycled works encountered in a range of sites follow:

Jim Power aka the Mosaic Man in the East Village, close-up

Collaborative — seen at Huerto Roma Verde, urban garden & recyling center in Mexico City

Baltimore-based Loring Cornish at Baltimore’s North Station

Brooklyn-based self-taught artist Sara Erenthal, close-up from her solo exhibit, “Re-cover,” at the Red House Shapira in Tel Aviv 

New Orleans-based Jean Marcel St. Jacques, forged from reclaimed wood from his Katrina-damaged home, close-up — as seen at Visionary Aponte at King Juan Carlos of Spain Center, NYU

Photos by Lois Stavsky

Currently on view at the American Folk Art Museum at 2 Lincoln Square in Manhattan is Vestiges & Verse: Notes from the Newfangled Epic, an exhibit of over 250 works by 21 self-taught artists. While several of these artists are well-known and have been widely exhibited, others have only been recently discovered. And they all have stories to tell. Pictured above is a magnified close-up from a diary page fashioned in text by UK-based artist Carlo Keshishian, who created the first of his diary drawings — totaling 3,945 words — in 2010. His use of this style is deliberate, as he does not want wish to share his personal reflections with anyone. It is also therapeutic. Several more images from this intriguing exhibit follow:

The late Richard Saholt — who battled schizophernia and post traumatic stress — “Untitled,” Magazine and newspaper clippings collaged on cardboard

The late German artist Ariane Bergrichter — who fought her demons through drawing, writing and creating collages based on scenes she saw while wondering the streets of downtown Brussels — “Untitled,” Ballpoint pen, felt pen and colored pencils on glued assembled paper sheets, 1989

New Zealand-based Susan Te Kahurangi King— who had lost the abilibty to speak by age eight, but has created hundreds of original comic-inspired drawings — “Untitled,” Pencil and colored pencil on paper, c. 1965

The legendary reclusive, prolific American artist and writer Henry Darger — “I see Glandellians, if they come here I’ll…We will slam them with our wings,” Watercolor, pencil, carbon tracing and collage on pieced paper, close-up

The late Spanish artist Josep Baque — who created 1500 fictitious creatures that he bound in nine different categories — selection from 454-page manuscript, ink on paper

Vestiges & Verse: Notes from the Newfangled Epic continues through May 27th at the American Folk Art Museum. Admission is free.

Photo credits: 1-5 Lois Stavsky; 6 Bonnie Astor

Fashioned by the late French painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet, the influential founder of the Art Brut movement, the image above, Noël au Sol, was captured awhile back at Acquavella Galleries on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. What follows are several more images of imaginary landscapes more recently seen in a range of settings:

American artist Jerry Gretzinger, “Jerry’s Map,” on exhibit through May 27 at the American Folk Art Museum

The late German artist Max Ernst, “The Bewildered Planet,” as seen at The Tel Aviv Museum of Art

Philadelphia-based mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar, as seen at South Philly’s Magic Gardens

Self-taught Cuban artist Luis Joaquin Rodriguez Ricardo, “The Flamboyant Tree,” as seen at GINA Gallery

Photos by Lois Stavsky

The curious characters pictured above were fashioned by the self-taught, transgender punk rocker Jayne County. What follows are several more works by largely self-taught artists that were seen in a range of settings, indoors and out.

Also by Jayne County, as seen last month at Participant on the Lower East Side

The late self-taught artist Foma Jaremtscuk, as seen at the Outsider Art Fair

Self-taught artist — and the late Keith Haring collaborator — Angel Ortiz aka LA2

NYC-based Baston714, pasted in Freeman’s Alley on Manhattan’s Lower East Side

Photo credits: 1-3 Tara Murray; 4 & 5 Lois Stavsky