After discovering graffiti at the Llano del Rio Horse Barn in 2013, while scouting illegal dumpsites in the desert, I had no idea what would unfold. The aerosol marks read, ‘It was not all flowers she had on her mind’.

We’ve worked with and visited the lands held by the Antelope Valley Conservancy, Transition Habitat, and State and Local parks, but our intention is to move beyond blossoms to inspire community care for CA Historic Site #933, together with artists, culture-bearers, historians, residents, and lovers of tranquility and local greenspace for rural desert dwellers. Co-creating a sanctuary from social polarization, outdoors, together.

In searching for ‘her’, a visiting research fellowship at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library led to the discovery of the foundations of little-known feminist architect Alice Constance Austin’s kitchen=less desert residences. This year, as part of the California Preservation Foundation’s Doors Open Initiative, we shared virtual visualizations of Austin’s living concepts, rendered by Kristi Kautz, a Mojave Desert dweller informed by special collections, public and private, and Austin’s publication, The Next Step.