Rough Draft Artist Statement- Jessica Mason

Take a moment to look around you. You might see lights, buildings, furniture, food now think… where did these things come from? Behind every stitch of cloth, crumb of food, and light in your house is a hard working farmer. Everybody enjoys that piece of toast every morning but do they ever remember those who worked to get it there? You never think about them but without them your life wouldn’t be the same. Just like the roots they plant they are hidden underneath what they produce.

It’s not just a job or a career path, it’s a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation. It takes a special breed of people to do the work of a farmer. It takes a tough yet gentle, hard yet soft, and big yet humble person to do the work that these farmers do. They are one of the few who still put their blood, sweat, and tears into what they love to do.

In reality we all come from this breed. We are all descendants of the “blue collar” crowd. Over the years this special breed has been thinned. More and more have pulled out of the business. In the twentieth century it was decided, by those of “higher status”, that there were too many farms and it was time that they were thinned out. These people thought they were just taking away farms but they were taking more than that. They were taking homes, lifestyles, and culture. I thought Wendell Berry put it perfectly when he said, “almost nobody in the supposedly “higher” occupational and social strata has ever recognized the estimable care, intelligence, knowledge, and artistry required to use the land without degrading or destroying it.” They haven’t seen what it takes to live a farmer’s dream.

Every farmer out there counts. They may make one tiny droplet into a giant tank but somebody has to fill that tank. They understand how doing small things can make a big difference in the long run. Every farmer is different. They have a different way of handling situations, a different way of watering crops, and a different point of view. Like their own personal uniqueness their farm is just as unique.

Through these photos I want the viewer to see the uniqueness and the sense of pride that each farmer has. Though they may be different they are also similar. I want to recognize these people who never ask for recognition. These are the people who work so hard for so little. Wendell berry also said, “Good farming is first and last an art, a way of doing and making that involves human histories, cultures, minds, hearts, and souls.” I want to show how farming is an art through my photos. It is so much more than just a job. Its home, lifestyle, art, livelihood, and we would be lost without it.