In this final episode of the Desert Lady Diaries podcast, Susan Henry (Ep 146) steps in as host and queries Dawn about her first experience with desert, the inspiration for Desert Lady Diaries and her shoppe, Soul Connection.
Born & raised in New Jersey, Dawn Davis was drawn to the desert after lengthy careers in banking, project management and media. After 14 years in the corporate scene, she spent more than 20 years as an actor, voiceover and producer.
Dawn moved to the Mojave in the summer of 2016.
Dawn is an award-winning actor and for the last four years has hosted and produced the 'Desert Lady Diaries' podcast. This month she will celebrate two years as the owner of Soul Connection, a gift shop in Joshua Tree.
2 Nov 2021
DLD | Kathy Goss | Ep 164
Raised on the east coast, Kathy didn’t see a desert until she’d moved to San Francisco in her college years. Taking bus trips down to beaches in Mexico, the desert felt like something to ‘get through’ in order to get to the beach.
Back-packing in the Sierras brought Kathy closer to the Mojave. One day, driving through Darwin in search of a friend's place, she felt ‘eyes were on her’ from behind curtains as she drove through the town. Kathy passed broken down shacks and cars and wondered how anyone could live in such a place. The town was so unnerving, she decided not to even get out of her car to walk around. Over time she came back to Darwin to visit those friends and began a serious quest for a vacation home there. With such a small population, property for sale was not easy to come by.
Through a series of events – some tragic and some disappointing – Kathy finally got a lead a few Darwin properties and purchased one. When the work/live space she was hoping for in San Francisco did not materialize, Kathy decided to make Darwin home.
In this episode Kathy describes what it’s like to live in a desert town with no stores or government, with the nearest gas or grocery 50 miles away. The only real social scene is the daily 11:30 a.m. trip to the Post Office for mail – the Postmaster has the only job in town.
We also talk about life in the desert as one ages; Kathy calls Darwin ‘a great place to die’.
These days, Kathy splits time between Darwin and Taos, New Mexico. She describes the property in Taos as even more primitive and off grid than Darwin. It’s at an elevation of 7200 feet where she hauls water and handles other manual living activities daily.
Find Kathy’s writing, music and art at: kathygoss.com (http://www.kathygoss.com/)
18 Oct 2021
DLD | Anne Lear | Ep 163
Anne Lear’s first experience with desert was a a young girl. Growing up in Los Angeles, Anne and her family made many trips to 29 Palms to visit her uncle, Bob Lear, a homesteader in the 1930’s. If Lear Avenue rings a bell, that road was named after Uncle Bob. This photo shows Anne, left, with Uncle Bob.
In this episode we’ll first learn how it was that Anne’s uncle came to be living in 29 Palms, which resulted in Anne coming to retire in the desert. Anne says as a child, there was nothing really interesting to do on these trips other than looking for rocks with one of the neighbor boys.
Anne credits two ladies for inspiring her to be an artist. Her mother – a teacher and artist herself – who would bribe Anne to finish homework or house chores with the reward of some kind of art-making equipment. Another inspiration was the Catholic school teacher who held up the students artwork for the entire class to see.
Anne shares the background of her teaching education, her learning the art of collage and serving as a chaperone for one her students on a trip to NYC.
In 1993, after 43 years of teaching – it was time to decide where she would retire. Having access to property with a prepared art studio, Anne decided she would retire in 29 Palms, on her uncle’s property.
Anne participated in two of the very first Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours and has also participated in the last three most recent tours. It wasn’t until she went on the tours herself that she realized how many artists are in the Morongo Basin. She notes desert artists are very quiet about their work and the lack of criticism leads to enhanced freedom and experimentation in their work.
Anne feels there is no reason to be isolated in the desert. If folks are feeling lonely, Anne recommends volunteering, stating, “Everyone needs a volunteer”. Not long after moving to the desert, Anne began volunteering at the 29 Palms Art Gallery and has been a member for over 26 years.
You can see Anne’s work at her website: http://www.annelearartist.com/ (http://www.annelearartist.com)
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