Baltimore's American Visionary Art Museum is very unique

The Universal Tree of Life (the Christmas Tree made of mirrors) adorns the front of the distinctive museum; admission is $15.95 with the museum located between Fort McHenry and the main Inner Harbor sights downtown

Bra Ball, Emily Duffy, 2003; this sculpture weighs 1800 lbs and consists of 18,085 bras; the artist, who directs San Francisco's Art Car Fest, has a degree in Fine Arts from UC Berkeley

Divine, Andrew Logan; the artist co-founded (with late Baltimore actor Divine) the Alternative Miss World contest open to anyone; they were sued by the Miss World pageant but won thanks to a young UK lawyer named Tony Blair (he went on to be quite famous)

In 2005, AVAM began its popular Flicks from the Hill series shown on a large screen mounted below artist Adam Kurtzman's Giant Golden Hand; 2000+ viewers sit on a natural hill across the street to enjoy the films

Trained as a dressmaker, Esther Krinitz intended to show what she had gone through during the Holocaust; yet the art she created -- both beautiful and shocking -- is universal in its appeal, expressing personal courage in the face of terror and loss

The Luisitania, by Wayne Kusy, took 2 1/2 yrs to complete and is made from 194,000 toothpicks!; unlike some of the museum works, the skill and craftsmanship of this piece leave you in awe

Not surprisingly, the museum is extremely profitable (it hosts 70+ weddings each year too) as its art acquisition costs (did I explain that politely enough?) must be extremely low

These 15 ft pink poodles by Theresa Segreti participate in the museum's annual Kinetic Sculpture Race; according to the museum, visionary art begins by listening to the inner voices of the soul, and often may not even be thought of as art by its creator

Baltimore Blues Art Car, David Best, 2002; Houston would seem the perfect location to have a huge museum dedicated to Visionary Art which could highlight its Art Car prominence

Love Balloon by Leonard Knight is one of the fixtures in a former whiskey warehouse added to the museum in 2004; the addition also includes classrooms and a banquet hall that can seat 400+

Part of the PEZ collection of David Klein; this quirky museum has exhibits like this that just bring back fond childhood memories and make you smile

What's Cooking, Bobby Adams, 2019; this 1970 Montgomery Ward stove and it's enhancements are designed to focus attention on the threats created by global warming

Cosmic Galaxy Egg, Andrew Logan; inspired by the deep space imagery captured by the Hubble Telescope (whose earthly home is here at Baltimore's Space Telescope Science Institute), this 8 ft tall egg is one of many outdoor pieces at the museum

Another Green World, Johanna Burke, 2016; the artist grew up on a commune in CA before moving to NYC in 1998 where she became a famed visual designer for the retailer Bergdorf Goodman

Mr. Imagination, Gregory Warmack, 2005; there are now 40+ museums (like Houston's Art Car Museum) and major visionary art environments open to the public around the world with AVAM being the largest

The museum has a small 1.1 acre campus which contains 67,000 sq ft of exhibition space and a permanent collection of 4,000+ pieces; don't expect to recognize the artists, rather just enjoy the creativity

Visionary art, as defined for the purposes of the AVAM, refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself

World's First Family of Robots, DeVon Smith; in 1972 the artist entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most miles ever hitchhiked (500,000+ documented miles)