Travel, Nature, and Nostalgia are three influential inspirations for my writing and art. In this week’s blog, I share a story about a new work, entitled “Still Standing.”
Over the years, I have taken photographs journaling the aging progression of my grandfather’s windmill, which was installed in 1935, when he started his citrus farm in Florida.
It stood approximately forty feet tall, towering over long-leaf pine trees, and could be seen from the road driving home from somewhere. During spring drought, I remember watching farmhands pull the tractor hauling a water tank parked beneath a canvas-covered hose that filled the vessel. Then they went through the rows watering each orange or grapefruit tree. I could smell the minerals in the water and the earth from which it came.
A long time ago, the tail vane caught the wind, which turned the center wheel and spun the blades, creating power to pump water from the ground-well into the barrel where it was stored. The metal pump rod acted like a giant straw, slurping the sulphur water from the well to nourish the grove and cattle on our farm.
As the barrel’s wooden slats weathered, they became vulnerable to woodpeckers’ drilling holes, leaking water down the side. The pecking against the water tank still echoes in my memory, as do the constant water drops that fell on me when I was near. Repairs were tirelessly made to stop the dripping.
As time passed, modern methods were used to pipe water where needed, but the windmill continued to turn, the barrel became a sieve, and the pump rod rusted.
Grandfather’s windmill stood valiantly against storms and hurricanes, its steel girders keeping it upright and steadfast. As decades passed, storms shifted the barrel slates. With each visit home, the barrel wood darkened, becoming more disheveled on its platform, and woodpeckers were no longer interested.
Age rusted every joint, gearbox and crankshaft. When the vane catches the wind, the windmill turns, roaring like a dinosaur and standing like a sentry watching the farm.
Nostalgia is found in the memory of my grandfather’s windmill, its service, and its stages of neglect in “Still Standing.” I drew my design on graph paper to achieve this artwork, trying different viewpoints of vintage parts. Then, I taped off an 8 x 8-inch aqua board panel with ¼-inch tape to create a grid. I used watercolor pencil to sketch my design and make changes with a brush of water, which acts like an eraser. I blot the area with tissue and wait for the board to dry so I can try again. I chose burnt sienna, yellow ochre, Payne’s gray, ultramarine, and permanent green for my palette to express Grandfather’s windmill as a symbol of resilience and a connection to the past.
Do you remember a particular iconic piece in your childhood, which evokes nostalgia or longing? I would love to hear about your memory, please comment below.
