A local commercial artist designed and built this cat sculpture, among many others featured in this month's edition of All Around Hays.
You might not notice if you don’t look closely, but art is everywhere in Kyle and Buda, from the great big sign in front of the Texas Pie Company to the twirl of lemon garnish atop an afternoon snack.
Our next edition of All Around Hays, which hits news racks this evening, is dedicated to the painters, sculptors and other people who are creating original work in northeastern Hays County. The mediums vary from oil on canvas to pastels and stainless steel to rattlesnake skins.
Pick up a free copy of All Around Hays at one of dozens of locations around town and find these stories and more by and about local folks:
- A trio of commercial artists in Kyle are creating work that has appeared all over the nation, from the crazy sculptures at Freebirds World Burrito restaurants to neon signs at the Lollapalooza music festival.
- Reid’s Nursery operator Chris Reid explains how to find and create the perfect piece of art for your garden.
- Chef Larsen Wilkes of Bourdeaux’s Restaurant in Kyle makes a convincing case for the artistry of his ahi tuna-and-shrimp ceviche recipe.
- The Austin Plein Air Society captures the moment during a bucolic morning at the Michaelis Ranch.
- And Marshall Freeman, the self-described Old Rattlesnake Man of Kyle, catches rattlers, skins them and makes his own crafts and accessories from the hides.
One of Freeman’s zaniest creations is the “turtle snake,” a turtle shell upholstered with rattlesnake skin, with a fanged face hissing in the front and a rattling tail that pokes out of the back. He said he sells a lot of them at snake shows, flea markets and area festivals. Happy to find his own snakes, Freeman never runs short of materials.
“Where you’ve got water, you’ve got bugs,” he says. “Where you’ve got bugs you’ve got lizards. And where you’ve got lizards, you’ve got rattlesnakes.”
Catching them is an art.
