All About You FRIDAY – Create a Land

The story of Randyland

Born in poverty and one of six children raised by a single mom in Homestead, PA, Randy Gilson grew up watching people abuse drugs and each other. He repeatedly heard words like dumb, white trash, punk and loser hurled at him. He was a boy with no direction and no future. 

Then one day, at the age of 9, he looked in the mirror and God gave him a message. “I’m not alone. I’m okay. I’ve got me. I’m gonna pick me up. Teach me. Push me. Mentor me.” And that’s what he did.

He honed his creative skills by repurposing trash he found on the street. “I saved Christmas!” he said, describing the time he found old toys in the trash and fixed them up to put under the tree for his siblings. People might look at him as eccentric and impaired. He lived in a world that largely rejected him, so Randy decided to create a world of his own. 

In 1995, he maxed out a credit card and purchased the property at 1501 Arch St. for $10,000 on Pittsburgh’s Northside. The neighborhood was in shambles with trash and dilapidated houses lining the streets. He used the only unemployment money he ever received to purchase wooden barrels. He filled them with dirt and planted flowers in them and placed them in front of the abandoned houses. People took notice and began to help him and the Old Allegheny Garden Society was born. They have since planted over 800 pop up nature reserves made of whiskey barrels, trees, eight parks and 50 vegetable gardens.

He collected junk and reused and repurposed it to add to his garden. He painted every square inch and put phrases and positive messaging up so that people could walk into his garden and feel the love and positivity in the world. 

He created the largest international welcome wall in America. He painted his best advice on wooden signs. He added color to a monochromatic city landscape. And he calls it Randyland. 

To walk in his garden is free. At first glance, it just looks like a bunch of junk. But if you spend time wandering by his art, you begin to feel surrounded by joy. I know. I was there last weekend.

Randy Gilson grew up feeling rejected by the world…so he created his own. And he welcomed people home. I wonder what this world would be like if we were all a little more like Randy. 

It’s Friday and its been a long week. Don’t forget to celebrate.

Until next time…