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Approximately 25,000 visitors venture to Sandia Park on the outskirts of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 every year to experience a sprawling installation of 400-plus hand-carved wooden figurines in elaborate Wild West and circus-themed dioramas. Many are motorized, including a Native silversmith who clanks his hammer in a trading post, an angel and devil who play tug-of-war over a dying man鈥檚 soul, and a little girl named Emily who, according to a hand-painted sign, has been 鈥渏umping rope for over 50 years.鈥�

This whimsical folk art wonderland, known as the Tinkertown Museum, was the brainchild of one man 鈥� Ross Ward 鈥� a longtime painter of circus posters and carnival rides, who took up whittling in 1962. What began as a hobby quickly mushroomed into a total way of life. By the mid-1960s, Ward had created an entire, mechanized Wild West town in miniature, and he took it to state fairs all over the United States. Then, in 1983, with the help of his wife, Carla Ward, he opened Tinkertown Museum, creating a permanent home for his ever-expanding collection of miniatures.

Ross Ward died of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease in 2002, and Carla Ward has been managing the for-profit roadside museum ever since.

But this month, Tinkertown officially transitioned to a nonprofit, marking a new chapter in its creative evolution.

鈥淚t started about three years ago, when the Kohler Foundation came to me and said, 鈥榃e鈥檝e identified Tinkertown as an artist-built environment. We think it鈥檚 a special place that鈥檚 worth preserving, and we really want to help you preserve it,鈥欌�� Carla Ward said.

Carla Ward is the vice president of the newly formed Tinkertown Museum board. Tanya Ward Goodman, her and Ross Ward鈥檚 daughter, serves as its president.

鈥淲e belong to a network of artist-built environments around the country now, and we鈥檝e gone to several conferences in Philadelphia, at the Magic Gardens,鈥� Carla Ward said.

The Kohler Foundation has helped preserve other notable folk art environments, including the futuristic, Mexican-inspired compound known as Pasaquan in Buena Vista, Georgia.

鈥淭he way they (usually) work is they acquire the site, fix it up, do what they need to do and then gift it (to a nonprofit). We worked for three years with different entities, including the state of New Mexico, the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and the county of Bernalillo,鈥� Carla Ward said.

She said they also worked with CNM (Central New Mexico Community College) for about six months, and almost had a memorandum of understanding, but their board voted not to accept it.

鈥淪o, as a result, we decided, with Kohler鈥檚 blessing, to start our own nonprofit as a family.鈥�

The nonprofit status will allow Tinkertown to solicit grants and donations, with the goal of raising enough revenue in the next couple years to hire a full-time executive director.

鈥淭inkertown has always been self-sustaining. I鈥檝e never taken on any debt 鈥� and I鈥檝e made a nice, comfortable living because of it. But it doesn鈥檛 make enough money to pay an executive director a real salary and provide money for me 鈥� to have a retirement fund,鈥� Ward said.

Ward hopes to pass the baton to a new generation of leaders and step back from the stress of day-to-day operations.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to retire,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 77 years old, and I鈥檝e been doing this for 43 years.鈥�

As Tinkertown shifts from a commercial roadside attraction to a nonprofit folk art institution, it has the opportunity to reimagine itself, not simply as a landmark, but as a gathering place for artists and writers.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing a few little (art and writing) workshops here, but we鈥檇 like to expand the workshop program. 鈥� And I鈥檇 like to do artist residencies, and expand that as we get a new executive director,鈥� Ward said. 鈥淚 want somebody else with some new energy who will come in and do that.鈥�

Ross Ward鈥檚 displays at Tinkertown combine history with hyperbolic humor and fantasy. The lack of realism borders on caricature in the case of certain Chinese and Indigenous figures, however, which some visitors have found problematic. Carla Ward acknowledged that the figures were products of their time, while noting that her husband, who worked in carnivals for decades and was close friends with many sideshow 鈥渇reaks,鈥� brought an over-the-top, exaggerated quality to all of his depictions.

鈥淚t is that P.T. Barnum sort of approach of 鈥楬ey, this is my world. Come see it,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nd some people don鈥檛 like it, but that鈥檚 OK.鈥�

In November, Tinkertown soft-launched its first residency, inviting Jordan Eddy, the editorial director of Southwest Contemporary magazine, to be its inaugural writer-in-residence. Eddy lived onsite from mid-November through mid-March, during the off-season when the museum was closed to the public.

鈥淚 had unfettered access to the installation, and to Ross鈥� private home, so I had all these layers of experience that you don鈥檛 get when you just visit Tinkertown,鈥� Eddy said.

Eddy believes a permanent residency program may help Tinkertown stay relevant in the future by encouraging new interpretations of the art.

鈥淭inkertown offers a fascinating opportunity to explore mythologies of the Southwest and one man鈥檚 obsession,鈥� Eddy said. 鈥淚 could imagine artists and writers digging into that in both celebratory and critical ways.鈥�

Carla Ward said her family deliberately kept their nonprofit鈥檚 mission statement broad to allow future custodians of Tinkertown to adapt their cultural and educational programming to changing times.

鈥淥ur mission statement for the nonprofit is to preserve and protect the legacy of Ross Ward and his vision for living a curious and creative life,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat whole idea is pretty broad and facilitates all kinds of things.鈥�

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .