NANCY BANKS
Barn
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Barn – the embodiment of the Vermont farm, self-sufficiency, the New England work ethic. Its huge silhouette overlooking acres of beautiful farm fields.
But no longer practical, impossible to maintain on today’s farm profits and fading into disrepair.
And so I learned that one of the majestic barns was to be torn down. Repairs too expensive, the lumber more valuable as beams in houses being built or renovated in the surrounding areas.
My project - document the disassembly of a barn. Like life, barns adjust. This one had been moved from down the road to the place it had stood for almost a century. The rails to move hay in the original barn still in place although unused for years, Original hand hewed boards had been supplemented with machined boards and bright yellow insulation added for a car repair shop built in the first floor for another the family business.
To disassemble is to build as well – boards and sheet metal lovingly taken off one by one, organized in neat piles, scaffolding to protect the fragile structure from collapsing while each beam is carefully removed – hoping rot had not set in. The huge fire pile in the back a testament to the rot and debris held all those years in this building. No second life for so much. .
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
My husband Gary and I moved to Morrisville in 2015 after living in Massachusetts for 35 years. We were drawn to Morrisville when our youngest daughter enrolled at Johnson State. Like our daughter, we fell in love with Vermont - the beauty, the people, the food, the outdoors. After retiring, it took us three months to find a house and start a new life. For me that meant new learnings - expanding my love of road biking, getting out the camera that has been sitting in a closet unused and engaging with my new community. The joy of being retired is the gift to explore and hopefully produce something that is meaningful to someone beyond me.
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All artwork is available for sale.
For pricing information contact
Nancy Banks:
nancybanks1@gmail.com