Potato Harvest
We had looked at dozens.
When we walked through the door
of the old brick farmhouse, I turned to my husband and said,
"I'm home." At that moment, we became part of a small rural
crossroads town in northeast Wisconsin.
The inspiration for this project
has come from being part of this community. A community that
all residents seem to mutually respect and hold dear. It is
in the history, the stories, and the homesteads that spread
across the rolling landscape that ties us to this place. It
is the connections we have to each other. Connected by property
lines, telephone lines and family lines -- immediate family,
shirt-tailed or otherwise. Some may just know of each other.
We are a pioneering, independent
group. We share values and common ground, but like to be left
to our ways. We work hard at what we do. Some because they must,
some because they are pursuing a passion. Side by side we raise
our families, plant our gardens, mow our lawns, and maintain
our homes and outbuildings the best we can. Behind closed doors
homework is finished, poetry is written, pies are baked, futures
are planned and pasts are remembered.
Through the many acquaintances of
my neighbors I have been given access to their properties, to
roam freely, usually with my dogs leading the way. To explore,
to observe, and to escape. What started as an exercise of the
body bloomed into an exercise of the spirit. I've come to know
where I live by walking the roads, exploring the woods, and
cutting across the fields. In the winter, I have braved the
elements and ventured across the frozen swamp and pond. In a
place of slow but steady transition, this area has had a profound
effect on my work. It has drawn out a higher level of honesty
in my approach in making pictures and has lead me down a path
of deepening artistic discovery.
This has been a lesson in seeing.
Seeing what is. Looking no further then one's own community
to find beauty, substance, fulfillment, possibly even sanctuary
-- to connect with one's own personal landscape and to celebrate
all that is in walking distance.
Suzanne Rose
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