It was a cold and rainy Valentines Day when Mike and I decided to run away to the beach for the weekend and play land pirates and explore the coastal country roads south of Wilmington. Our little nook in the woods just outside of Raleigh was being invaded by a Super Walmart, and our favorite country roads were full of construction getting ready for the new superhighway less than a mile away. So we took off in search of the old North Carolina we so loved. The quiet country roads where you don't see another soul for miles upon miles, and the Spanish Moss waves at you like so many pirate beards just a blowin' in the North Carolina breeze. And then there's the islands-- islands that hold so many pirate tales, where you can still wander the beaches and not find another livin' soul.
We'd never explored the coastal and country roads south of Wilmington-- so that was where we headed. We loved that there were still old beach roads that you could get lost on, that seemed untouched by the modern age. The area still had the old charm of those slow southern summers at grandma and grandpa's. You could even find a few local fisherman with their shrimpin' boats under the zig zag bridge to Holden Beach. We weren't even five miles from that crazy zig-zag bridge when we drove right past it. I had Mike do a U-turn.
No one seemed to be home, and despite the freezing rain we couldn't help ourselves from getting out and exploring the magnificent garden. Hanging from the branches of a giant Silver Maple tree were brightly painted tin can mobiles, pots & pans, birdhouses, and paintings on old windows. Betty Boop was painted on one old toilet seat, and another said "Pray for America." I began to follow a path of circular stepping stones painted with cartoon characters. There were so many old friends-- Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket, Winnie the Pooh & Mighty Mouse. The path wandered through a village of small buildings that extended out from under the branches of the great tree. There was a train station, a candy cane house, a soda pop shoppe, a make a wish for Jesus fountain, a church, a red schoolhouse & a country store. Donation boxes read, "Help Feed the Hungry Children". I knew we had stumbled upon the pirate treasure of our pirate adventure. There I stood, feeling like Alice in Wonderland, smiling in the freezing rain, trying to take it all in, and wondering who had dreamt up such a beautiful world, and why........
a documentary film on North Carolina Visionary Folk Artist Mary Paulsen. Located just 5 miles inland from the Atlantic waters of Holden Beach, there's a magic garden built out of love, faith, bright paint, the unwanted goods of her local community, and a super fun sense of humor.
We can do no great things- only small things with great love.
-Mother Teresa
After exploring her garden, we found her standing there amongst the brightly painted treasures of her front porch. With her curly red hair and a twinkle in her eye she welcomed us. 'If this place don't make you laugh, you're dead!' she said, and laughed such a hearty laugh that we couldn't help but join her.
After spending 17 years as a Calabash County waitress in the seafood capitol of the USA, Mary Paulsen woke up one morning in 1996, and The Lord had told her to go into her garden and build a village for her collection of 6,000 dolls in order to help feed hungry children. And despite Mary having no prior building knowledge there was now a blueprint in her brain for each building. Donations from visitors to Mary's garden go to Larry Jones' Organization called "Feed The Children", that helps feed hungry children in America, as well as children abroad who are affected by famine and drought.
(www.feedthechildren.org).Mary was one of ten children born to a local shrimp fisherman. When her father was killed at sea, Mary became responsible for the care of her five younger siblings. Mary knew what it was like to be poor and hungry as a child.
I think if God had someone build a Noah's Ark for dolls, he'd contact Mary. There's everything from a life-sized cut out of Marilyn Monroe, to a 4-foot Indian Princess, to Woody from Toy Story, as well as one of three complete collections of the Blue Bonnet Margarine Dolls in the US. One of these days Mary is going to build all the dolls a proper museum.
And what does one do when there is no land left to build upon? They do like city folk, and they build up. Mary's garden is now a double-decker with a tree house she decided to build on her 55th birthday. It's just behind the Make A Wish for Jesus Fountain, and a pirate-like crosswalk connects it to the new library that is just above the little red schoolhouse.
In 1998, Mary Paulsen woke up one morning and the Lord had told her exactly how to paint on the reverse side of old glass windows.
'I made my first one that Saturday evening--my husband and my mother in law makin' fun of me, tellin' me I should do somethin' that was gonna turn somethin' and I told them I was, and sure enough I had it sold before ten o' clock the next mornin' at 80 dollars. That was my first one,' she said, and laughed. 'They said my God, get her more windows.' (Mary laughs again) 'Help her. Get her paint and get her windows.'
Mary's doll village and her paintings on windows are treasures in their own right, but the real magic is Mary. Her love for her fellow man, her incredible faith, her down to earth self, her incredible stories, her contagious laughter, and her wonderful sense of humor make up the magic that makes Mary's garden grow.
Mary Paulsen has touched so many lives. I wanted to share Mary and her garden with the rest of the world. Do you remember Pippi Longstocking? The spunky, determined, fun lovin', hard workin' red-headed girl who was always usin' her creativity to put a smile on the other kids faces, and tryin' to help the orphans down the street. Mary reminds me of a grown up Pippi Longstocking.
Most of Mary's garden has been built out of the unwanted goods of her local community. Mary has turned recycling into her own "gonna make you smile" form of art.
'Everything that I do, like the windows that I recycle-- all the tin cans and the glass jars and the wood pieces that I cut using pieces of scrap wood, all this. I say, "Even if they throw it away later, it's going out of this county. It's not thrown away in this county. Brunswick County ought to be very happy!" Mary laughs. 'I've saved the landfill a bundle!'
Twice now, I've driven to Mary's in pelting rain storms. But as I approached Mary's garden the grey clouds parted to reveal a heavenly break in the storm. The peace and love and laughter that radiate from Mary and her garden are like another NC lighthouse, offering all who venture off the road less traveled a ray of light that rejuvenates the soul from the trials of modern life.
Her connection with Jesus and God fascinates me. I don't think Mary would blink twice if Jesus Christ or Forrest Gump wandered into her garden. There's so much magic there everytime I go, that I wouldn't be surprised if God or Jesus were telling her to give me a call to come and film. I have yet to ask her about that one.
Mary has been written up in numerous articles, including one that inquired, "Is Prayer Protecting Mary's Doll Village?" Just 5 miles from the Atlantic, Mary's garden has survived 5 Hurricanes, mostly completely untouched by winds up to 165 mph.
Despite all my own battles with religion, I can't help but find beauty and hope and joy in Mary's faith and what she has created with it. I'm fascinated by Mary and her faith. And I am again reminded of the incredible power of belief, and in what one chooses to believe in. Belief itself is a sort of magic in it's ability to change a person, or a situation, or the world. What do you believe in? And do you still believe in magic?
If you live in North Carolina, or you plan on making a trip to our great state, treat yourself and your loved ones to an adventure unlike any other in the coastal garden of NC Visionary Folk Artist Mary Paulsen.
Mary is located about 45 minutes south of Wilmington, and 30 minutes north of Myrtle Beach.
From Wilmington, take HWY 17 South, just past the town of Supply. Go past the Supply Hospital, and the electric company. Look for a small sign off to your left that says Holden Beach. Turn left on Mt. Pisgah Rd, and travel for 5 1/2 miles until you come to Mary's Gone Wild Folk Art and Doll Baby Museum. Her address is 2431 Holden Beach Rd. SW . Mt. Pisgah Rd becomes Holden Beach Rd. SW.
