I was in Law Enforcement years back and got a call to a woman’s home. This was in central Alabama in the US. It was well known that she was mentally unwell ( diagnosed Schizophrenia) and that many of the calls were based on her delusions. She lived alone. For context this was odd because Appalachian culture is typically very inclusive especially of their own. People take care of people. When you add that she was Black, her being alone was even stranger because minorities tend to be more communal than the dominant culture. It’s something I’ve always admired. She lived alone though in this little cinder block shack. I walked in, and immediately to my left laying on the floor what was appeared to be a body.

My heart skipped a couple of beats before I noticed that it was actually a handmaid life sized doll. It essentially a stuffed straw , wearing overalls and flannel, complete with shoes. It was so creepy in there dimly lit shack. It became obvious that this woman was an artist down to her bones. There were canvases made from seemingly anything that she could get her hands on- caulk to corkscrews. Her illness couldn’t have been easy, but in the chaos she was still tethered to creativity.