The Exemplary 2024
2nd Place, Professional Original

My father Ken was born on an Ohio farm where they raised chickens and grew tomatoes, strawberries, and raspberries. In 1934, when he was 6, a family photo captured him plowing with their mule Susie. Although they sold their land during the Depression, Dad still tried to garden in the clay soil at our home. The first spring I lived in Chicago he brought me tomato seedlings and cuts from raspberry canes he’d grown. My son Ken has left the city and chosen a plot of land in Wisconsin to do a modern version of farming. Being a good steward of the forest, living in harmony with the beavers and squirrels found near the stream, and dwelling sustainably on the property tie my son to his grandfather, forming a bridge from my family’s “agri-culture” in the past to the future. Included techniques span my growth as a needle artist. Gel photo transfer, a central bargello panel of the land’s contour map, and stumpwork and needle woven figures surrounding the design bring past and present together.