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Thanks to my agricultural upbringing, I love old barns! That’s why it is a subject I return to time and time again in my paintings. In my ideal world every old barn would still have a small herd of milk cows, a draft horse or two, and a few pigs or sheep in it. There would also still be a hardworking family living on each farm who know what true “sustainable living” means; growing their own food, both plants and animals, and the waste from both of those going back into the land as fertilizer for future growth.

Today, unfortunately, many old barns are sitting idle and left to deteriorate. Once the foundation falls in or the roof starts to leak the end is near. I think it is a shame to let these iconic structures that stand as testament to our agricultural past fall apart and disappear from the landscape. In Wisconsin, where barns are a common site, it’s easy to assume that they will always be part of our rural scenery, but I fear that barns won’t be all that common in the future.

While driving down familiar roads I have noticed more and more often that a once prominent barn has now collapsed or has completely disappeared. This breaks my heart. To me it signals the end of an era, an era that defines what people think of when they hear the words ”family farm.” At one time these farms were full of life where all members of a single family worked hard each day to do the work that needed to be done, not because it was just their “job” but because it was their way of life.

This is the kind of farm I grew up on, from when I was born in 1975 to approximately 2004, when my parents sold the cows. My dad milked our holstein herd twice a day in our forty stanchion barn. My mom fed the cows and calves in the morning and us kids did that job at night. Of course, there were a million other jobs we did, like cut and stack firewood in the winter, and bale and unload hay in the summer. It was heavy work, but I can’t think of a more meaningful way to grow up. We had responsibilities and purpose. Even as a kid I realized it was a privilege, and was thankful, to live on our beautiful farm with lots of space to play, work, and enjoy life.

Our cow barn was the heart of the farm. All six people in our family spent countless hours in there milking, feeding, bedding and brushing cows, sweeping and scraping the floors, along with washing udders, pipe lines, and the milk tank. That was in the lower level of the barn, while up in the hay mow there was lots of stacking, throwing, climbing, swinging, and sweating that went on.

While growing up all of our farming neighbors were living similar lives, milking 40-70 cows, and growing the hay and grain to feed them. Today some of those barns sit empty, one burned down, and a couple of them now house heifers while the largely expanded dairy herds on those farms are milked in new steel pole shed-style barns with a milking parlor. Currently my parents rent our barn to a younger couple who have a smaller herd and produce organic milk.

This brings us back to why old barns should be preserved: Because they don’t build ‘em like they used to! Steel pole barns are the new barns of the day, and most observers would probably agree that they just don’t exhibit the aesthetic qualities of the traditional wooden barn. Unfortunately, it’s too expensive for most people to build barns using timber frame construction. It’s another sad fact that next to no one knows how to build using that style today. So, beside the loss of a way of life, specific to a time period in Wisconsin and other states’ agricultural histories, is the loss of the skills it took to build a traditional barn, many without nails, and many peculiar to various European ethnic groups. Carpenters with knowledge of mortise and tenon joinery, and masons who can build a sturdy foundation with whatever local stone is available are few and far between nowadays!

As mentioned earlier, barns are still commonplace throughout Wisconsin and surrounding states, but as these already aged structures get even older many more will collapse due to neglect. I understand that it is expensive to maintain such a large building, but I think every effort should be made to do so, especially if a barn has unique architectural characteristics, such as the round barns of Vernon County in western Wisconsin, or the Swiss style bank barns with pent roofs so common in Green County, both of which can be seen in the barn on the left in my watercolor at the top of this page.

A few years back my parents made the investment in our barn to replace the shingled roof with a steel one. This should help it last for many years to come. I commend all barn owners who have realized the agri ‘cultural’ significance of these structures, and have made the effort to preserve them. To aid in this effort it would be nice to see at least a small portion of the billions of tourism dollars that come into this state each year allocated towards a barn preservation fund. Wisconsin’s barns and farmscapes are an iconic image that visitors associate with the state, and something they love and expect to see. It would be a shame to allow this important symbol of rural America to eventually disappear.

It seems our neighboring state of Iowa has recognized this problem and is making more of an effort to preserve their remaining barns. From the internet I found information on at least three different organizations dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and rebuilding of “American Heritage barns”: The Iowa Barn Foundation, Iowa Barn Savers, and Preservation Iowa. There is even a documentary that was released in 2017 by Moline, Iowa film-makers called “The Barn Raisers,” which pays tribute to Midwestern history by featuring the “folk architecture” know as the barn.  (I can’t wait to see it, and am so glad I learned of it while doing a little bit of research on barn preservation while writing this post).

*Suggested Reading: “Barns of Wisconsin” by Jerry Apps

An Idea Realized

For a long while I had an idea to create a poster featuring my beautiful home state of Wisconsin, but with so much going on here, and an endless choice of subjects, I wasn’t sure where to begin. The project languished until a couple of years ago when I noticed the popularity of using state shapes in home decor items, on t-shirts, and on other graphic products. This realization pushed the project to the front burner. I knew the idea had the potential to appeal to a large audience, in this case the residents (past and present) of Wisconsin. People are naturally attracted to the familiar, so my plan was to add a unique element to the recognizable shape of Wisconsin.

My initial vision was to include an assortment of images representing popular characteristics of the state, but that seemed rather overwhelming. I finally decided to start with the basics and feature my tried and true subject of the Wisconsin farm. The resulting watercolor includes the iconic scene of a red barn, silo, and out-buildings, something that can be found throughout the state. In the sky I added my signature fluffy white clouds, and some attractive details in the foreground wildflowers.

Once I had made note cards featuring this image I was ready to share it with the public at my upcoming summer art fairs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that people really liked it, and many told me they were going to send the cards to out-of-state and overseas friends and family.

The positive reception encouraged me to expand on the idea by creating an entire series of Wisconsin themed watercolors. I started by making a list of what I thought the state is best known for. My second painting, called “Northwoods Escape,” features a cabin on a lake where a canoe and kayaker paddle the calm waters among the water lilies.

The third piece, “Wisconsin Ag,” returns to a farmland scene with grazing cows, but focuses on a variety of Wisconsin agricultural products displayed in the foreground, including dairy products, hops, ginseng, and more.

Number four is a view from up on a hilltop, and under an apple tree, of what could be either Lake Michigan or Superior, or even the Mississippi River. A monarch butterfly and wren  have both alighted in the foreground wildflowers.

Number five is a fall scene at the edge of a birch and maple forest, where a rooster pheasant and buck deer stand amid golden ferns.

Unexpected Expansion

This set of five designs were a hit at my 2017 art fairs, where I sold them as note cards, individual 8×10 prints, and a poster that includes all five images. Nearly all of these shows were along the west-central edge of Wisconsin, and a couple were over the border into Minnesota. This led to quite a few Minnesotans asking if I had any images featuring their state. I didn’t, and, at first, I had no intention of veering away from my focus on the dairy state, but after multiple requests I decided it might be smart to venture beyond my original plan, and add a new state to my portfolio.

With my first holiday show coming up in mid-November, in Winona, Mn., I got busy on the first painting in this new Minnesota series. It features a ski sweater design painted with a knit pattern. The show was this past Saturday, and I was excited to find that people liked it! In fact, I sold all the cards from the first run of this design at the show.

Wisconsin: Phase 2

This fall I have also added a couple new designs to my Wisconsin collection, both of which are directed at a more specific audience, and feature a single motif rather than an outdoor scene. I created my sixth design in the series in preparation for a Scandinavian festival that I have been a vendor at for several years. This watercolor of Scandinavian Christmas hearts is embellished with some Norwegian rosemaling. It also was a sellout at this festival.

My latest addition features the state’s number one fruit crop – cranberries. I created note cards with this design for the Cranberry Discovery Center in Warrens, Wisconsin. These, along with the first five designs in the series, will be available in their gift shop.

Within the next couple of weeks I hope to add an eighth installment, which will be my Christmas card design for 2017. For updates on when it will be available please check out my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/scwatercolors or www.SharonChristensenArt.com.

To place an order just send me an email or message. Sets of any six cards are $10, plus postage. These include the text “Hello from Wisconsin.” Minnesota card available with text “Merry Christmas from Minnesota.” 8×10 prints (images/text as shown) are just $10, along with the 6×13 inch poster featuring all five outdoor scenes.

As much as I love warmer weather, I was in no rush for winter to be over. As long as it was too cold to grow anything outside I didn’t have to feel guilty staying in the house working on art stuff. Now as late May approaches there is an overwhelming sense to work outside getting those early vegetable seeds in the ground.

So far we’ve had a very wet and cool spring in west-central Wisconsin, which has kept me from getting into the garden as much as I would like. There were a few warm days in a row during which I barely managed to plant several rows of beets, carrots, and peas. I rushed to finish seeding a row of parsnips as the dark clouds and rain started to roll in over the hill. (Being down in a valley I don’t get much of a warning when a storm is coming). This was over a week ago now and I haven’t been able to get back in the garden since then due to the constant rainfall. I have 100 strawberry plants that have been waiting for a month now to get planted! The field is tilled and ready to go, except that it’s now mud.

The New Garden Shed

This year I have a new potting shed/garden storage/greenhouse to work in. It’s only 8‘x10’ but it holds basically all of my garden related stuff. Sage built it mostly from wood he milled himself. There are lots of shelves, large salvaged windows, and a work bench with a counter top section we found at the Habitat Restore. I have lots of seeds started in there but with the cool weather they’re not growing too fast. 

Things in my outdoor cold frame stay a bit warmer than in the shed. The angle of the window on top is better at catching the sun (when it shines occasionally).

Weed Control

I am determined to stay ahead of the weeds this year. I just spent way too many precious hours last summer hoeing and pulling weeds over and over again, especially under the electric fence. To alleviate that problem I sliced off everything under it with a shovel and then laid down cardboard which I then topped with wood chips. I really hope this works. It looks good, and so far has withstood the torrential rains.

For weed control in the garden the plan is to lay down a thick layer of old hay over the entire planting area as soon as the ground is tilled, and then push it aside just enough to get my seeds and plants in the ground. I’m thinking this will be faster and easier than mulching around small plants. Last year the weeds had plenty of time to grow between tilling, planting, and mulching. They won’t have that chance this time around!

Now if the sun would just come out to dry and warm things up I could get busy…..Until then I guess I will be doing more indoor work…..hopefully some painting.

For my second blog post I thought I would tell you about my journey as an artist, and the events that lead me to where I am today.

I grew up on a southern Wisconsin dairy farm, where I learned to work hard, and to appreciate the fertile and picturesque landscape that surrounded me. For as long as I can remember artistic endeavors were what I excelled at, so there was no question as to what I would study after high school. I enjoyed my five years at college, and worked hard at it. The only problem was knowing what I would do with an art degree. My professors were rather silent on that subject and I had no clear goal in mind. I simply didn’t know what my options were. I just figured something would fall into my lap, and for awhile, fortunately, things kind of did.

Catalina

After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1998 my first job was working as the summer art instructor at the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI). It was awesome! I spent every day outside under a grove of huge eucalyptus trees with a view of the ocean leading 9-18 year olds in various arts and crafts projects. Southern California life (island style) was an entirely new adventure for me. I’d never even been in the ocean before so getting to experience things like sea kayaking, snorkeling, sailing on a tall ship, chumming for eels and Mola Molas was all an incredible new adventure.

I had no previous teaching experience nor an intention of going in that direction but one thing led to another…..

Astrocamp

The next fall I found myself working as a physical science/outdoor ed. instructor at CIMI’s sister facility, Astrocamp, located in the pine forests of southern California’s San Jacinto Mountains. It was another gorgeous location, and a wonderful time meeting new friends and learning things I’d never dreamed I would be teaching to others (an artist teaching astronomy!!) I had to learn fast.

In between these seasonal jobs I went back home and did a lot of substitute teaching. I was getting used to this classroom business.

Cruise Ships

My next adventure was working as a youth activities director aboard several different Holland America cruise ships, sailing in both the Caribbean and Southeast Alaska. I’d never been on a cruise before so, again, this was a whole new world to me. It was a lot of fun, and getting paid to travel while working was a great way to see the world.

Reality Sets In

Eventually I came to the point where I had outgrown this seasonal job lifestyle and felt that I needed to move on, but found myself back in that post-college-no-direction limbo. I decided to move with my sister (fresh out of the Peace Corp) to Minneapolis, hoping undiscovered opportunities awaited me there. No such luck. I ended up working three part-time jobs, earning just enough to pay the rent, but not enough money or time to explore what the city might have to offer. It didn’t take long to discover that city life was not at all to my liking. I had to get out of there! This feeling of desperation propelled me into serious thought about my next move.

After much contemplation I made the decision to return to school to get my teaching certification in K-12 art. That fall I was back in Wisconsin attending UW-River Falls. A little over a year later I was finished with my courses and student teaching requirement. In November of 2005, at age 30, I started my first “real job” at an elementary school in Racine, Wisconsin within view of Lake Michigan. It wan’t exactly the age group or location I was hoping for, but it provided stability. I was finally going to stay in one place for awhile, allowing me the time and space to make art. After awhile my portfolio started to grow enough for me to begin doing art fairs. I started by selling hand made note cards with images of my watercolors, which are still my biggest seller, and eventually added original paintings and art prints.

New Scenery

After teaching for ten years I was ready for a change. When the opportunity came along I jumped at the chance to leave my job and move to the other side of the state to the hills of the Driftless Region in western Wisconsin. I’m so happy to be back living in the country where I have room to plant my own garden, keep some animals, and live a more self-sufficient lifestyle. I’m also excited to have so much more time to dedicate to being a working artist. I feel a bit slow in coming to use the internet to share my art, but better late than never. I will try my best to make it a success, and I thank you for taking the time to follow along in my new life as a farmer artist.