The dream of being able to create art for the social good, and have a space my family can come to see me if they want to, is the driving force behind what I am doing. At long last I am brave enough to make it to the land in the Low Country of South Carolina and begin the task of developing a space to create. With nothing but positivity and progress in mind. Brave - due to the fact I have a young homeless man (braver than me) assisting me, and I am not here alone at night. I am driving him nuts, because what I see as history, looks to him like an old shack that needs to be torn down. It is an old shack, but it IS history. So yes, I am driving him crazy because it must be restored and saved. Not torn down. History, gotta love it.
As we beat down the bushes and got closer to the shack, we found interesting items. A 'haint' gullah blue painted panel of wood (my favorite), a piece of wood with interesting symbols on it, and old no trespassing signs. An old hubcap that is extremely useful as a cooking top on our fire. Locals drive by and slow down, checking us out, in particular because of the constant fire burning for warmth, heating water for showers, and cooking, Also it's the first time a lot of locals have seen the ol' shack minus all the bush that was hiding it from their view. We have cut a LOT of bushes and small trees by machete and axe. No power tools, although a gas chainsaw would be really nice to have. If anyone wants to come and camp out for a weekend, with a gas chainsaw in hand, please contact us. We need it temporarily. We can trade you a weekend camping in one of the most beautiful locations on the east coast USA. Proud to say we now have a driveway of sorts and a little area cleared. Way more to go still with the machete and muscles. Meeting locals who have passed by and wandered or wondered in. An elderly man (nicknamed geechee), who was a shrimp fisherman on the local trawlers for decades until illness struck. He rides his bike to get back his health, and checks in on me frequently. (he loaned a ladder so I could get to the damaged part of the roof) He hasn't been to the local beach since they started charging a fee to enter it. But he did talk about the times when he used to go, when one part was the white beach and the other, the black beach. They were close enough for everyone of both races to see each other, he said. A young woman took me to a church around the corner and i met the pastor, who is allowing me to collect water when needed. It is the home church of a young American Idol winner from a few years ago. While I was there I noticed two beautiful loquat trees on the church grounds. I haven't eaten or seen loquats since I grew up in New Zealand. I felt like I found gold! Food, and food I love. Happy it is cold enough to not worry about hordes of ticks and mosquitoes right now. Not cold enough in the day to keep away the snakes though. A big black snake is (i guess...?) My new best friend, since they keep away the so called 'bad' snakes I'm told. This post would be longer and more detailed, but the effort required to live without running water and electricity, all while trying to fix a space to live in, takes a lot of time. I am keeping a daily journal and will post a timeline of each days events very soon. Thanxoxo for your interest in an artist determined to make art by any means necessary. Peace and progress - Monique de LaTour
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Kia Ora, hello, greetings. #1 - I don't consider myself a writer by any means, so please ignore my writing style, because there is no style. It's simply me. Punctuation marks, 'proper' use of the English language, and all that? Just appreciate I'm doing my best, and what I write is more important to me than 'how' I write it.. What i care about is if you can read at all. That matters much more. If you know me, you know i talk like I write. Write like I talk. That's just the way it is. Love it or hate it - you're free. Just like me. Ahhh - we have something in common already.
I want to explain how i made a way to find the luxury of time, and the space, to create a website (teaching myself), and write a blog, let people know what I do... Kind of a long story, but i'll try and get to the point fast. So, I'm not sure how familiar everyone is with their music - but "It's Your World" is a song written and composed by Brian Jackson, and perforrmed by Gil Scott Heron, Brian and the Midnight Band. It has always been one of my favorite songs. It resonates now, more than ever. Brian explained to me what it meant to him. He told me it was all about the world we create in our 'head', the dreams, the hopes, whatever is up in there, and making 'it' the world you can live in, go to, or create. Because it's YOURS. For me - that world in my head is constant. The pictures, the visions of creating art, raising awareness - never stops. The way it can impact communities, my family, the way it can impact my own life - this visual world of mine keeps stacking up in the back of my brain. And the front. And the middle. And the sides. It's full. Very full. Little bits have managed to get out, and become reality. But for the most part, they remain in my dome, they don't like their home, they need to get out, be free and to roam. It all needs to come out while I'm still on this earth. Because once I'm on 'the other side, I'm not too sure how it's gonna be utilized. How to do this? What was holding me back from creating all that stuff in my head? I broke it down to the basics. To create - what I needed most was the 'time'. My time was taken up by jobs. Jobs I loved and therefore put my all into. I became an undocumented immigrant for 8 yrs. (After the woman who was sponsoring me for my green card at Harlem Textile Works sadly passed away). Very little pay. Often promises of pay, and no pay. And no rights. Jobs I really loved tho'.. Had to pay the bills, illegal alien or not, in order to not be homeless. But the pay did not cover the bills. So i needed extra jobs. On the side. Jobs an illegal alien could get. The frustration of being tied to a job/s where you put 200% of yourself into, for very little financial return, taking all your time and energy - to coming home worn out, where the only thing you can put yourself truly into, is bed. Is not cool to me anymore. Never was. I was simply following along with society and it's expectations of us. Their world. Not mine. In 2007 I was approved by the Dept of Homeland Security as an "Alien of Extraordinary Ability" I sponsored myself. I didn't marry anyone, I believed in myself and I submitted the application solo. All 160 pages of it. A portfolio of my work for all those non-profits and community work, and awards etc...Even tho' I was still doing meaningful work in communities I loved and worked with, the art in my mind was ready to explode. I could never get the time to actually do it. If I found time, it was never enough to do it well. When I heard Michael Jackson couldn't sleep well because the songs and the music never stopped in his head, I could totally relate. Not saying I'm an MJ, but that is what is going on in my head. Non-stop pictures. movies. Even when I'm asleep. So you kind of wake up and scribble it in your journal, in case you forget it when you actually wake up. For work. Their work. Not yours. And so the build up was building up...... I knew I had to make some major changes. I figured buying a cheap piece of land, would help me escape the rent trap.. I could grow food. I could have more time, and make my art. If I could only find a small cheap piece of land, I would be 'home free'. I decided to start living in my car, my mid size SUV big enough for a 50yr old (young) woman to sleep in. Keep my job, and save as much of my minimum wage as possible. I did all this. For almost 2 years. Found a piece of land.. Still paying for it, but I'm determined to pay it off by end of 2016, because I have to. It's in the contract. A 'ballon payment". By any means necessary. This website is my attempt to live off my art skills and still educate others at the same time. I am trying to do it. How does someone live in their car while working and saving for land? Let's just say buying a plot in a community garden is a plus. (Food and exercise). Walmart (piss, poop, park and sleep). A cheap gym or pool membership is a must. Or become a swim instructor/lifeguard like me, then it's a part of the job (free showers/lockers). McDonald's for 24hr internet. Library for peace (and wifi). Solar phone and battery chargers are a plus. Knowing all the parks with restrooms and grills in your town is real helpful. 24 hr laundromats. A good little cooler. Screens to put in your car windows at night, so no one can see you. Mace, baseball bat, crucial. Anyway there are fb pages that go into much more detail about how to live in your car. I always loved camping so the transition was not bad at all. And the feeling of being in a small space, reading a nice book and hearing rain on the roof? Nice. On the land there is a tiny old dilapidated shotgun house, that I'm determined to repair by hand before it falls down. I want to hand carve designs that combine the Native American and Gullah cultures of St Helena Island to incorporate into the structure that people can learn from. I make things with my hands. Why cant I turn an old shack into a work of art? Plus I have hand tools. I'm not 'homeless' as some may think. Just 'house-less' right now. I live in my car in the USA, and in Jamaica with my longtime friends. My family think I'm crazy. Actually, i think most people think I'm crazy. All I know - I am free to create and get this stuff out of my head. I have land I can grow food on. Along with my children and grandchildren, the greatest thing in 'my world', is to have time to take it all in, and get it all out. Me. Almost free. I pray they see the importance of what I am doing and they too will experience freedom in their lifetime on earth. thankxoxo for listening.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYVpGneHoxI "It's Your World" The ground beneath my feet I know was made for me There is no any one place where I belong. My spirit's meant to be free And soon now everyone will see Life was made for us to be what we wanna be! and IT'S YOUR WORLD It's yours and yours and yours And what you see Was not meant for me. IT'S YOUR WORLD But you don't have to be lonely 'cause in your world You are truly free! The thoughts that fill my mind Are a very special kind Because they're home to me and me alone. And then i realize That we all have a home inside That was meant for us to be what we wanna be CHORUS Music of life fills my soul Music of love makes me feel whole As human history unfolds before my eyes. My spirit's meant to be free And soon now everyone's will be. It's your right to be whatever you wanna be! and IT'S YOUR WORLD It's yours and yours and yours And what you see was not necessarily meant for me IT'S YOUR WORLD But you don't have to be lonely 'cause in your world You are truly free! You are truly, truly free, To be what you wanna be. ©BRIAN JACKSON |
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January 2019
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