I asked the subject of my work for the summer to take a small break from her own endless work schedule so that I could get a picture of her looking at this series of paintings. She could not understand what was so interesting about her life, and viewed the work with skepticism. At ninety, she does not have much time to reflect, only to dig, plant, mend, and maybe visit when that is done. All of these paintings need work after transporting them back home. To the right in the bottom left picture are crates full of recently dug potatoes...to her that's real work and she takes a lot of pride in that.
All seven paintings are rolled up and wrapped with tape and craft/wax paper, and my stretchers are fastened to my easel waiting for more abuse next summer. One last contribution from the flatbread truck, and everything pushed behind the farming tools and baby potatoes ready to be replanted. The next adventure is getting these onto a plane and home after a couple days of rest in Tokyo. My next post will be the re-stretching of this work thousands of miles from where it was made, and the continuance of my reflection and painting based on photos, drawing, memory, and yes...feelings.
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