A House Divided

2017

20" X 31"

Oil on Panel

SOLD

The complete backstory for the Kuerner Farm Series can be read on my blog post for July, 18, 2017 …

which you can search for by clicking here.

The first treasure I found, on that morning in May, was this tiny egg shell.
It was white, but some shadow from the spruce trees gave it a faint teal glow.

It reminded me of the wash of paint in the main room of the farm house…so I started there.

The story goes that, when Karl the first lived there,
the house was divided into two halves, in order to accommodate two families,
or maybe the owner’s family and then the workers.
Somewhere along the way, the central wall was removed,
which left two fireplaces side by side.

Though the soft pastels are muted now,
by years of hard living,
their gentle hues reminded me of that chambered nautilus.
You know the one.

Betsy’s nightgown could have been used to paint these walls.

The shell is mine,
from an island far from these pillars,
but the shadows belong…ever…
to Anna.