I have written about Billy Tripp's Mindfield in passing in a few other posts, but I don't think they really conveyed how striking it was and how much I saw in it. I also don't think I can necessarily describe the ways it affected me in words, so I thought I would do a pictorial post just on Mindfield and some of the smaller details of it. Billy Tripp started building Mindfield after his parents passed away in 1989. An artist and an incredibly skilled welder, Billy kept adding to it and it just went from there. As he healed, he built, and as he built, it grew, and as it grew, it took on a life of its own. Mindfield is now a destination, and people travel from all over the world to Brownsville, Tennessee to see it. You can even stay at a hotel right next to it and eat at The Mindfield Cafe. Everyone I spoke with in Brownsville said Billy is a kind and fairly normal person - a bit eccentric but definitely a beloved member of their community. To me, I feel like his sculpture really is a look into his mind. Sometimes it is happy and playful, sometimes it's dark and sad. Always it's thought provoking. It's chaotic, and yet it's ordered and solidly built, and the more you look at it the more it makes sense. Also the more you look at it, the more you see. Billy has also received permission to be placed underneath Mindfield when he dies, so it will always be a monument to his life's work. Enough words though, here are some of the dozens of photos I took in the hour or so I spent wandering around Billy Tripp's Mindfield. As always, click on any photo to enlarge it. Enjoy, and I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.