When a breeze brushes through the field just below Vollis Simpson's machine shop, you can hear the sounds of metal clanging against metal and of Ferris wheel-like contraptions turning. But the ...

WILSON, N.C. – The eccentric vision of a self-taught North Carolina artist famed for his whimsical, wind-powered whirligigs is getting an overhaul that's as much about engineering as it is about art.

Wilson is known for the whirligigs, large kinetic sculptures made by Vollis Simpson. They spin all year long, like a windmill, but it's not as effortless as it might seem. Dedicated conservationists ...

If you don’t know what a whirligig is, head for a unique festival this weekend in Wilson, North Carolina. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a whirligig as “a child’s toy having a whirling motion, ...

WILSON, N.C. — The eccentric vision of a self-taught North Carolina artist famed for his whimsical, wind-powered whirligigs is getting an overhaul that’s as much about engineering as it is about art.

RALEIGH, N.C. Where others saw trash, Vollis Simpson saw whimsical, wind-powered whirligigs, creations with hundreds of moving parts that turned and twirled. The whirligigs were made from recycled ...

CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) - Honest Abe chops some wood outside a log cabin. A whale hunter jabs away with a harpoon while on the back of his target. Wood, wire and wind combine to set them in motion. They ...

The year was 1989. Charlie Gaddy was still anchoring the evening news. I was a young TV reporter trying to make my mark. And Vollis Simpson wasn’t even famous yet. A WRAL viewer called from Wilson and ...

LUCAMA, N.C. (AP) — When a breeze brushes through the field just below Vollis Simpson’s machine shop, you can hear the sounds of metal clanging against metal and of Ferris wheel-like contraptions ...

WILSON, N.C.WILSON, N.C. — The eccentric vision of a self-taught North Carolina artist famed for his whimsical, wind-powered whirligigs is getting an overhaul that’s as much about engineering as it is ...

LUCAMA, N.C.LUCAMA, N.C. — When a breeze brushes through the field just below Vollis Simpson’s machine shop, you can hear the sounds of metal clanging against metal and of Ferris wheel-like ...