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 artist Vollis Simpson is gone, but his fanciful creations survive. Simpson created dozens of "whirligigs" - large-scale moving sculptures that use materials such as road signs, bicycle parts ...

(This is the ninth story by this journalist in an occasional series revealing “Hidden America” — worthy travel destinations unknown by most Americans.) Vollis Simpson was a character. He was a North ...

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 ...

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 ...

When Vollis Simpson created his first kinetic motion machine as a pilot during World War II, he likely never envisioned one day his whirligig sculptures would be such a central part of North Carolina ...

Dear Helaine and Joe: I have finally summoned the courage to write and ask about this whirligig discovered in the barn of the old house my husband and I bought. I have no idea how old it is, or ...