There is so much around us. I’ve been contemplating these words as I drive across the beautiful midwest on trips between Chicago and Minneapolis, Minneapolis and Rochester. Growing up in southern Minnesota I was surrounded by this landscape yet never fully absorbed its stark beauty. There’s something about the flatness, the way the sky goes on for miles and miles, the neat and orderly rows of corn and soybeans, and the tops of old white silos on the horizon that instills a sense of simple familiarity.
And, thanks to my watercolor painting class at @milan_village_arts_school, I’m consumed with wanting to paint all the hay bales as they pass by my window. Jill Blom, our instructor who is well known for her landscapes, showed us an example of painting this scene – hay bales on the horizon. Each time I see them I want to stop everything and pull out my paintbrush.
Elisabeth A. Fondell is a writer, potter, and food enthusiast living in the rural Midwest. She is currently working on Food Stories From Houston County, a project documenting stories of culinary resilience in Minnesota’s southeastern-most county through the Crystal Creek Citizen-Artist Residency.
Elisabeth began focusing on place-based food writing after receiving a grant from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council to create a body of work celebrating the intersection of food and culture. See that exhibit here.
