There’s No Other House In The Country Quite Like This One In Wisconsin
If you only know the Kohler name because you have one of their products in your bathroom, then you are missing out. Since 1966, the Kohler Foundation has donated money land to be used by the Sheboygan Arts Council for the non-profit John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC).
The Center has free admission and is home to ten galleries as well as performance spaces and more. It’s a gem of art support where you wouldn’t expect to find it. And it’s now the home of one of the most interesting houses we’ve ever had in this country.
Originally built in McComb, Mississippi, the Beautiful Holy Jewel Home of outsider artist Loy Allen Bowlin was saved from destruction and moved up to Sheboygan. The JMKAC has restored it and reconstructed it in their galleries and preserved it for all to see.
Loy Allen Bowlin was an outsider artist in McComb, MS. He called himself the original rhinestone cowboy and he dressed to fit the role.
Starting in the late 70s, he started decorating every inch of his home, inside and out. He called it The Beautiful Holy Jewel Home: The Home of the Original Rhinestone Cowboy.
No two areas of the home are the same and the walls are covered in everything from patterns of cut-out paper to paint and glitter, as well as photographs and magazine pages. It's a giant kaleidoscope of color and collage.
After Bowlin's death in 1995, the property was scheduled to be razed. Houston artist and collector Katy Emde purchased the house and then carefully documented and dismantled it. A few years later, the JMKAC in Sheboygan acquired it.
