Art Yard Shenanigans

Ugh. Her whole family had Covid-19 and nobody was going anywhere in April of 2020.

Kat Warwick had plenty of time to imagine what she’d do as soon as she got some strength back in her 5’3″ 58-year-old body: carve big stone sculptures in her front yard. She created Art Yard Shenanigans to amuse herself, but more importantly, to give the neighbors something to look at and the kids something to do.

Kat started carving and it turned into a daily live show in stone; open to anyone who walks, drives, bikes, skates, or rolls on by. Every week, she offered a different hands-on lesson. Neighbors of different generations met over lifting heavy objects, calculating the weight of stone, learning a bit of art history, and seeing the value of strategic planning and patience. Along the way, they learned to carve stone alongside Kat.

We hear some people go on their daily walk even if they don’t feel like it, just to see what’s happening in her front yard. Folks spoke up and said they were artists too and now there’s a neighborhood artists group networking and encouraging and supporting each other.

When the artwork is sold, Kat donates to charities. She takes pride in showing young people the kind of hard physical work women her age can do, but as she says, “Diamonds are this girl’s best friend — hand tools with industrial diamonds make carving easier.” So she’ll buy some more with this AWB grant, along with kid-friendly (softer) stone and tinier tools for their little hands.

Follow the shenanigans here and here.