Nostalgia

"Shepard's Dream" 16x20

Oh, for the Good Old Days!

My mom grew up in Farmington. She knew everyone in town, and everyone knew her. Whenever someone moved in on her street, she’d bring them something to welcome them and introduce herself. Her welcome gifts were usually tied to the land. In the early spring it might be some skunk cabbage she found along a stream behind the house. In the summer it might be a monarch butterfly cocoon ready to bust open. I met one of her old neighbors who told me about the time my mom showed up at her door with a garter snake to welcome her into her new home! Mom explained with a twinkle in her eye, “Every garden wall needs one.”

 I feel deeply connected to the land here in Farmington, but unlike my mom, I don’t know many people in town. I can almost hear her voice teasing, “Well, sweetie, you could do something about that…” But times have changed. These days, knocking on a new neighbor’s door with cookies—let alone a garter snake—might not be received quite as well.

 Still, I yearn for those real, personal connections. Not the Facebook kind, but the neighborly kind—the kind that invites a walk together, that weathers life’s ups and downs, and that endures through generations.

 Many of my paintings are inspired by the Farmington of my youth and my mother’s. I’m drawn to landscapes where humanity’s touch is light, where we are but a small part of the bigger picture. My hope is that these scenes evoke a sense of rootedness and connection—for me, for those who view them, and for our shared community.

That’s why I’m especially excited about my upcoming exhibit, Farmington Nostalgia, which will be on display at the Barney Library in Farmington from December 9th through January 6th. (I couldn’t bring myself to type the year in the same essay with the word nostalgia!)