In 1957, Georgia artist Eddie Owens Martin began transforming his inherited farmhouse and seven acres

Georgia artist Eddie Owens Martin In 1957, eccentric folk artist Eddie Owens Martin returned to his rural roots near Buena Vista, Georgia, and began turning a seven-acre family property into a colourful world of painted totems, geometric designs and tall masonry walls. Over the next 29 years, Martin, who called himself "St. EOM", built six major structures and more than 900 feet of brightly painted walls. The site became what is now considered one of North America's most important visionary art environments. Known as Pasaquan, a name Martin created to mean "the past coming together", the site combines Mesoamerican designs, African patterns, Eastern symbols and futuristic ideas into a highly personal style.From fortune teller to Georgia visionaryBorn in 1908 to a family of rural Georgia sharecroppers, Martin left home for New York City at 14. He spent the next three decades working in the city's nightlife and later became a professional fortune teller. According to biographical records maintained by Columbus State University, Martin experienced powerful spiritual visions while seriously ill in 1935. He said a futuristic being told him to change his life and follow "Pasaquoyanism", a...