60 - LOOKING WEST

LOOKING WEST

14 x 21 inches

(West view of our farm)

This is the west view of our vast farm. As a child, I often walked west to explore the land. The dams and the many water formations were captivating. A stream from a small pond twisted and turned through Devil’s Slide, a densely wooded area nearby. Devil’s Slide was off limits to my siblings and me because it had very high, steep banks. My parents feared we would slip into the creek and drown. The meandering stream and woods held a strange eeriness that heightened my vivid imagination of the supernatural and my exposure to some frightening fundamentalist religious teachings and Grimm’s fairy tales.

Landscape reflects whatever one chooses to see. Whatever direction one looks, beauty can be seen, even if the landscape holds something others may deem fearful. Exploring the unknown, the off limits, is often more interesting, even if it might be a little scary!