A vanishing rainstorm left a brisk, penetrating breeze in its wake. The brick house sat blind with its windows shattered or entirely absent, allowing the wind to wander through its rooms unrestrained. A gust moved a loose door, tapping and knocking on its broken jamb. The walls whispered and wailed as the air pushed through the lathe left exposed like an untended wound. The sharp roughness of peeling paint broke off in my hands and when the wind subsided, the house breathed its musty breath over me.
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I thought I’d post a throwback to 2010.
Every once in a while, something grabs you and holds on. I made several paintings of this house between 2009 and 2014. The place had an incredible story behind it and was central in the lives of one man and one family. Over the course of the Echoes series, I kept coming back to this house. The place had a mood that changed with the weather and offered up a new vision with every visit.
The prose was written in 2011 in a creative writing workshop with the incredibly talented poet, Catherine Graham. Her workshop opened up a whole new passion for me that added another level level to what I now do. The paintings and this excerpt are now a part of my book “Once Imagined” . As soon as my immigration status allows, I plan to resume seeking publication.
Recognizing our passion isn’t always easy. It takes being open to life and surrounding ourselves with the right people along the way. When we find it, we usually discover it was always there. Is there something that grabbed ahold of you and didn’t let go? What are you passionate about?
‘When you find it , you may discover that it was always there.” I hope that you find it again. I cannot wait to read it…….Abandoned ….. Through your words I can see it; hear it and even smell it’s musty breath . You certainly can inspire my imagination.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to the time when I can make the book available.
The house is gone now, torn down, along with a few other places in the book. Change is the one constant.
I’ve always loved your house paintings 😀 they always did a wonderful job at making the houses look alive and like they had souls 🙂
I think they might very well have… 🙂
I’m passionate about family stories and family ancestors. I love the memories of kind, happy family members whose love and interest in me and those members of my first family have stayed with me over all the years. These memories have taught several important facts about life. One is the incredible importance of a child’s first years of memories and the incredible impact they have in the shaping of a child’s personality.
I was amazed at how kind and welcoming the families who shared their lives in these humble buildings were with me. In my own family research, I have reached out to distant relations in the U.S. and in the U.K. It makes one think about how connected we all really are.
Having just written a probably useless letter to the mayor about a new and abused conservation land around the corner from where I live. The question of passion seems clear. I want wild spaces allowed to flourish. I probably see your abandoned houses quite differently too, as seeing human spaces revert to wilderness gives me hope. It is interesting to think how much the viewers thoughts and experience can influence the experience of art, be it a painting or novel.
Absolutely true!