Elenabella picked up on my earlier post on M. Schettl's yard full of wonders, and in her writing, she wondered aloud: "Is this the origin of those sculptural oddities you see along Interstate 90 around the Wisconsin Dells: the giant moose, the jumbo carp, the gargantuan chunks of fiberglass cheese? And where do people go to learn how to make this stuff?"
Well, I believe the fiberglass figures at Schettl's (at least the outdoor ones) are mostly second-hand. And it's likely their place origin was FAST (Fiberglass Animals, Shapes and Trademarks) in Sparta, Wisconsin (east of La Crosse). Yes, Wisconsin really is the epicenter of the roadside universe.
Like M. Schettl, FAST is featured on roadsideamerica.com, and it's definitely worth a trip. It's been owned by a guy named Jerry Vettrus since 1983, but I believe it was there much longer than that, creating Bob's Big Boys, Muffler Men and lots of custom pieces too.
I last checked out the FAST yard in 2003. Here are a few photos from that trip.
They're a little hard to see, but this is an assemblage of the molds that are used to create the figures.
Ready to race. Not!
Santa is always out standing in his field.
It wouldn't be complete without a blue cow covered in stars.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Where the Fiberglass Things Are
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2 comments:
~thanks for the info, DN3, indulging my love-hatred for this kind of thing. Fiberglass and cartoonish realism: aren't they the enemy of good taste and environmental responsibility? And yet...
I was pondering the American obsession with oversized animals and other objects that has led to a market for these critters.
And I decided that, for me, the thing I find magnetically attractive is not the single instance you find at a restaurant or car dealership, but rather the places like Schettl or FAST where dozens or hundreds of the things are juxtaposed, revealing the utter bizarreness of obsession.
Plus, they're just a fun place to take pictures.
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