‘Artist’ Articles at Sweetnicks

A quirky, eccentric, amazing place that you should visit at least once. Let’s check out Luna Parc.

Writing about this place gets over 100 photos off my phone – phew! Luna Parc is the private residence of artist Ricky Boscarino, and he opens it up for public tours just two times a year. I’ve seen it written about in various magazines, and it’s been on my “things to do” list forever, and I finally visited this year. I had really hoped to visit with my kids, but it was only open until 4 pm on three school days, so it wasn’t really conducive to taking them (and that may be the point of the day and hours it’s open), but hopefully I’ll be able to go back with them.

Just a $5 donation gets you entry into the weird and wonderful world of this artist. You get a brief overview from a docent before you tour the interior of the home, and, other than that, it is a self-guided tour. The project started in 1989 when Ricky found a home that was private and that was a place where he could use his artistic creativity to slowly transform the property. Originally a hunting lodge that had been vacant for ten years before he bought it, this is what it looked like when he purchased it:

It’s changed just a tad. ;)

*if this reading nook was in my home, I would never see my nine-year-old

While Ricky is still the main artist that is constantly adding, moving, improving, and tweaking his residence, there are several artists in residence as well. Situated on five acres of remote property, there is plenty of room to create. Ricky has said that he plans to live there until he dies, and haunt the property after he’s gone.

Photos won’t do this place justice, because it’s one of those things that you really have to visit to appreciate, and as it’s continuing to evolve, there will be something new around every corner if you choose to come back regularly.

Whether he’s using traditional artist mediums like paint and canvas, or recycled materials like yardsticks, old Mrs Butterworth syrup bottles, or bowling balls, it truly is a sight to behold. Broken rubber bands became a small sculpture inside the home, and those plastic tags that seal loaves of bread closed are in tall vases. I noticed things my friend didn’t, and vice versa – there is no way you can take it all in.

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When the kids and I road tripped to Washington DC nearly two years ago, as we were crossing into Delaware on the Delaware Memorial Bridge, I spied a giant statue of Mary on the side of the road. I didn’t know anything about it at the time, and we snapped the best picture we could from where we were.

When we were on our way to Baltimore two weeks ago, and I was going through the Roadside America app, the statue of Mary popped up as one of their roadside attractions along our route.

And this is when it came full circle.

And quickly got added to our list.

One, because it was pretty cool to check out, given how super-sized it is.

And two, because I knew our littlest road tripper would love it.

Case in point. When I told her last week that I had signed her up for a week of Bible Camp this summer, her response was “Oh that’s awesome! You know how I’m all about God!!”

And so it is.

Whether you’re religious or not, this statue of Mary is a pretty awesome sight. All around the statue are plaques with the stations of the cross.

Tucked in by Mary’s feet were some rosary beads that visitors had left, and a few notes asking for prayers. Although Catholics traditionally don’t offer up prayers directly to Mary, she is often seen as a go-between to her son.

The statue is made by sculptor Charles Parks, a Delaware native, who had made several others, including one that is just two feet smaller and currently in Santa Clara, California. While it looks like it might be solid stainless steel from a distance, it’s actually constructed from strips of stainless steel that are shaped and welded together, giving it an unusual but awesome textured appearance. It cost $500,000 to build and Parks and his assistant worked on it in various stages as the money was raised.

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Visit: Luna Parc

Visit: 34 Foot Tall Stainless Steel Mary {New Castle, Delaware} – Road Trip