used to go to Kiawah Island and the northern end was not developed. I went down in June this year and they’ve put in big roads and sewer lines and they’re just continuing to develop it—I couldn’t find the walkway that I used to take and I nearly cried when I realized that. The live oaks are protected, but that’s about it” (Creal). Knowing that this continuous development is not confined to merely Kiawah but can be seen along the majority of the state’s coast, Creal decided to create a series of lithographs that would focus on these coastal regions while emphasizing the natural beauty of the undeveloped landscapes. By gaining sponsors through the support of the Kickstarter program and a grant from the South Carolina Arts commission, Creal was able to pursue the creation of the “South Carolina Coastal Lithograph Project.” After identifying 25 various undeveloped sites along the coast including places throughout Daufuskie Island, Pritchard Island, Bull Island, Santee Coastal Preserve, Cape Romain National Wildlife Reserve, and Don Lee Wildlife management area, among others, Creal began traveling to these places (or in one case, flying over them) and photographing the landscape and non-human inhabitants. While visiting these locations, Creal also attempted to reach out to local experts such as coastal conservation groups and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in order to gain a better understanding of environmental issues and perhaps glean good focal points for his lithographs from that research. “I really tried to make connections with coastal conservation groups, but I really have not gotten any traction with them wanting to help me, be with me, show me places, that sort of thing. I went to the DNR and asked if they would want to be a partner in the project because they have access to many of the off-limits sites. They also have many people with lots of knowledge about the areas, but they didn’t want to get tangled up with an artist looking for special access. It’s frustrating but understandable—their main focus is protection and they don’t know if my work will be effective” (Creal).

          In Creal’s eyes, the question of his art’s effectiveness still remains dubious. He claims his main reasons for producing the South Carolina Coastal Lithograph Project to be to create a body of work that would survive and that he could be proud of in addition to calling attention to the beauty of the coastal environments. Striving to capture his love for the land, Creal also hopes to enable people to become more appreciative of the undeveloped landscapes and perhaps even become more environmentally conscious. However, Creal claims that there “is a long stretch between a hope and an actuality” (Creal). The support garnered through the Kickstarter platform indicates the popularity of Creal’s work on this project—over one hundred people decided to support him financially—but the artist remains unsure as to whether or not his work is truly affecting any change in people’s thoughts and actions towards the land. Although he has high hopes for his work, Creal wonders if a visual image will resonate in person’s mind in the same manner as written text. To further the influence of these lithographs, Creal plans to travel with the series, upon its completion, so that he might give artist talks to explain the significance of each image in regard to habitat uniqueness and value. Though he has received suggestions to focus on the bad rather than the good in the hopes of startling people into action, Creal currently plans to remain focused primarily on the beautiful aspects of the environments so that he might call attention to what South Carolina may still lose if the state continues along the trajectory that it is currently on.