NovPhotos: Day 6: Jesus in the waning light

Statuary of Jesus and lambs in the Sunrise cemetery in Fairlawn, Virginia. Taken at sunset.

Concrete Jesus, Folk Art....: FebPhotos Day 21

Yes, I'm running a bit behind on the FebPhoto posts, as you might have noticed. We went down to the Fearrington Folk Art Show last weekend, reprising our trip there last year. Here's a few images from the trip:

We once again bought a dog painting from Tim and Lisa Kluttz,
this one an homage to our yellow lab Enid.

But I did promise a concrete Jesus, didn't I? On the way back home we pulled over at a gas station beside a concrete statuary lot/store/yard/iconmart. Looking up while pumping petrol, my gaze found these concrete pups and animals:

And looking over the entire flock was this concrete Jesus, calming the waters:

Magi spotted moonlighting

Several unemployed Magi were spotted preparing to moonlight outside this garage in rural Virginia last week. As the sun set behind them, two had taken their places on the nocturnal shift while the others were still, apparently, asleep. "It's tough living all year on our yuletide cresh earnings," one Magi said. "And since the frankincense and myrrh market bottomed out, we've got to make ends meet somehow."

Roadside Palintology and preparatory promulgations

This American dinosaur was spotted in southern Virginia. I believe it's the first post-Sarah Palin sighting of dinosaurus Americanus. The fossil record is unclear about the stars and stripes motif, but most paleontologists are pretty sure that this was not what influenced Betsy Ross when it came to designing the flag. Most Palintologists are just confused:

Coming back to Virginia the next day, this bit of signage was seen just below the Virginia line in North Carolina. No time like the present to get ready!

Iconography: Pre-rapture roadside advice

Here's a bit of advice for those who need help with eternal itinerary planning, cheerfully proffered above the door of a rustic garage on Hwy. 8 near Hanging Rock State Park in NC. Take with as many grains of salt of the earth as ye see fit.

Truckside Jesus and a vinyl cross

Here's a couple of iconographic images from a recent trip through southwest Virginia. Several trucking companies place religious quotations and slogans on their big rigs, but these folks like to place large, tract-worthy graphics on their 18-wheelers. Keep on truckin' while keeping Satan firmly underfoot:


Another roadside favorite is the huge cross on the I-81 near Bristol, Virginia. It appears to be clad in vinyl siding, which should provide an eternity of carefree, paint-free iconography:

Roadside iconography - Coffindaffer crosses

Nestled up in this field beside I-77 in West Virginia is a set of Coffindaffer crosses. You’ve probably come across a similar set of crosses if you’ve traveled in the South, as it’s the most ambitious effort at roadside iconography that I’ve found. Called “Caffindaffer Crosses,” these were originally envisioned by Bernard Coffindaffer, a West Virginia native and Methodist minister. He had a calling in his mid-40s after several heart operations, liquidated his $3 million fortune, and began erecting these sets of crosses across the U.S. and the world. Eventually he set up 1864 crosses, including 352 in West Virginia, 131 in Virginia, and 106 in North Carolina. Coffindaffer died in 1993, but his crosses project continues under the auspices of Crosses Across America.

Lighthouse Deliverance Church

Last fall I drove by when someone – I assume the minister or an inspired congregant –was out painting this mural on the previously unadorned front of the Lighthouse Deliverance chapel.


Located near Plum Creek, VA, between Radford and Christiansburg, this log cabin of worship a one my favorite examples of local folk art. Check out the crown of thorns, the lightning bolts, and the stigmata on this cornerstone Jesus.