This series of paintings titled 'The Cabin' was created as homage to my family’s vacation cabin. It is a cozy wooden cabin built in 1969, procured by my grandparents after cashing in their insurance, and has been fully furnished by the hands of four generations of my extended family. Tucked in the heart of Black Hills, SD next to a chilly creek and towering pines, it does not boast lavish accommodations but instead shines with handmade and modestly curated items.

“You can just feel the history in this place,” said a guest of my grandmother’s one evening as they gestured around the dining room. Upon overhearing this from the other room my first thought, already knowing the full cabin's history, was, ‘well of course.’ But as I looked around the room again I began to see everything around me with a new perspective. Instead of ‘these old things have always been here’ I began to see a patchwork of contributions from family that have created our cozy retreat. Without knowing the extent of hard work or number of hands that built this cabin, or even the innumerable memories that continually saturate every corner, this visitor of ours was able to perceive something intangible.

With these works I am providing you the same lens used to observe something I dare not take for granted and to feel the same family history and welcoming environment detectable even to an outsider. With this series I will continue exploring my ongoing appreciation for all things handmade, what they reveal about the people who created them, as well as the powerful effect they have on our living spaces.

Look back often, as I will be adding to this series as I search back through family albums for more inspiration.