We Had A Tire Swing

This mixed-media piece, created with ink and watercolor, depicts the farmstead I called home as a small child. It’s fascinating how the details of a place you knew at five years old can blur over time, but my initial sketches for this piece weren’t far off. The only detail I misremembered were the number of windows on the house. Eventually, I found an old photograph tucked away in some family tree files, which allowed me to accurately capture the house’s features.

Despite the corrections, the most vivid memories in this piece come from the large tree with the tire swing. That swing was a childhood touchstone, tied to countless afternoons. Inside the house there’s the pink bedroom—where my sister and I once hid in a mix of fear and excitement as the family tried to catch a bat that had found its way inside. The bat was stuck in a large curtain that went over the window of the living room that faced east. I remember surrounding the house, the shelterbelts of trees that my older brother warned me housed huge dangerous badgers that attacked people. At the time, I had no idea what a badger looked like, so in my imagination, they became monstrous, walrus-like creatures with sharp teeth, chasing me in my dreams. When someone pointed out an actual badger hole, I couldn’t comprehend how those enormous creatures I’d dreamed up could fit inside.

While the surface of this painting portrays a serene and idyllic scene, a deeper look reveals an emptiness. The swing hangs still. The dog waits alone. This farmstead became a memory all too quickly after my parents’ divorce. The farm was sold, and the family who bought the land replaced the house—built by my family—with a much larger one. Some of my classmates even bragged about watching the demolition, as if mocking what it had meant to me.

But this house was more than a structure. It was built by my family, cultivated on land tended by my ancestors for generations. Through this piece, I wanted to honor one of its brighter days, as a tribute to my grandparents and the lives and future they built there.