When I updated my website to include all of the paintings that I've made for the CSA exhibits, I was surprised at how different the body of work was from what I was painting just prior to the project. And I was also surprised at how much work I had made! Here's a screenshot of the CSA paintings (those last three were done for the Tiny show at Spindleworks, made at the same time):
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| Updated work from the CSA exhibits + - fills a whole page! |
Here's a screenshot of the body of work the was produced just before the CSA project
(minus the first one which didn't fit on the first page!):
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| The paintings from before the CSA project (minus that first one) |
I'm really struck by the difference in palette; the older work was about dealing with migraines and chronic illness, so they were pretty dark and a bit angry. The CSA project allowed me to focus on something bigger than my own issues and something more cheerful-- even though I always find a way to bring something haunting into my work!
One of the most intriguing results of this CSA experience, for me, has been evolving my perception of what my influences were-- What I went in with and what I came out with. And other's perceptions, too. The artists, the farmers, and the viewers. It's not always about the food itself. For me, it barely was. As one of the other artists, Maina Handmaker said
in this Forecaster article, "I learned a lot from them: not just about raising animals or picking vegetables, but really about raising a family and being connected to a place in the community."
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| "The Hub" Monotype |
One of the best interactions with a viewer of the original exhibit was with a woman who turned into a buyer-- she fell so in love with a monotype that I had done of a barn on the farm because it brought back a memory from her childhood of visiting her grandparent's farm. It was a place that her cousins and herself went to each year to reunite and have a grand time being kids. She was in tears as she told me this story and when I turned around - red dot! Even if she hadn't purchased it, the story was so touching to me as was the knowledge that my piece had brought her back the emotions from that time in her life. And the conversation came from asking me why I titled it "The Hub" -- I did so because the barn seemed to have a magnetic pull to me. Each time I visited the farm I was drawn to it. As her and her cousins were drawn to their grandparent's barn.
Looking back at the entire experience, I'm so glad that I've been a part of it for so many different reasons. I'm sure I'll keep thinking about it and talking about it here.
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