Art from the Farm

Three years ago, we started Light in Winter, a series of illustrated stories from the farm. The tales were written to encourage readers during short days and cold weather.

For two seasons, Lydia Stewart created watercolor paintings and pen-and-ink drawings for our stories, and the combination of words and pictures were sent out weekly, November through February. We had subscribers from all across the country, from South Carolina to Alaska!

For this winter season, we created Light in Winter: The Exhibition. The show closed on Friday after a wonderful month of sharing art from the farm at the Crawfordsville District Public Library.

We used a combination of Lydia’s paintings, my photographs, and the Light in Winter stories to immerse visitors in rural life. Connecting the art with the tools of the craft was especially important. In one glass case, we showcased the items shown in The Shepherd’s Desk: hand shears, hoof trimmers, a lamb scale, a medicine bottle.

Another priority was including a tactile component, with pieces of the farm that were featured in the stories. For “Sheep Shearing,” we tacked wool to the wall so that it could be felt (pictured above). A beautiful cattail framed an illustration of a heron, which was accompanied by photographs of the West Union Covered Bridge and a flock of birds soaring over Sugar Creek.

And we shared some behind-the-scenes of our collaboration:

And the collaboration with Lydia has been fantastic, especially since she can translate back-of-envelope sketches like the one above into something as stunning as The Fox. I asked Lydia to share some of her thoughts about the exhibition. She writes:

“Two years of illustrating for my friend Elise’s agricultural newsletter, Light in Winter, meant I had lots of original pieces of art hanging out in storage. I loved many of them but didn’t have plans for their next phase of life.

“Now it’s February of 2024, and we just concluded Light in Winter: the Exhibition. Twenty-four of those little paintings hung on the walls next to Elise’s essays and photography, telling the stories of her farm and livestock adventures. Now, almost half of those paintings HAVE another life, hanging on someone’s wall somewhere–which frankly boggles my mind.

“This little exhibit was a delightful experience. Elise led the charge on marketing, we collaborated on gifts for our patrons who made it possible, and there was time and room for a few little surprises in between. All our careful planning was justified in a long but exciting move-in day, and we moved out (my father standing in for me) with a lot more people knowing more about what Elise and her husband do on their farm–and more people receiving Light in Winter.

“It has truly been a light to me after some grey months, and I am grateful.”

It was surreal to see everything up on the wall, and it was also a lot of fun. With the combination of paintings and photographs, we enjoyed a different look at our farm, taking a step out of the winter cold and mud, remembering why we do what we do.

Thanks for Reading!

And thank you for your support of Light in Winter, from contributing your patronage to sharing about the exhibition on social media. We appreciate your support of Sylvanmore!

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This Week on the Farm

Lambing is scheduled to begin within the next two weeks, and we’re excited to greet the new members of Sylvanmore!

Farm Shop

Things are pretty quiet in our farm shop this week. Coming soon, we’ll have 4-H lambs and breeding sheep available, and our Etsy shop will have more Shetland fleeces. Stay tuned!