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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January 2019
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