"For the Love of the Land" Art Exhibit Celebrates Small Farms in the Monadnock Region

For a couple of artists whose work focuses on farms, how Jeanne Maguire Thieme and Mary Iselin met seems almost too perfect. "I had sheep. She had sheep," Thieme says. "We traded ponies back and forth." The two had been painting on their own since childhood; Thieme knew so early on that she wanted a career as an artist that she transferred from her original high school during her senior year so she could take art classes – and then voluntarily stayed an extra year to keep taking them. Now, they're two of seven artists who host a tri-annual exhibit honoring the Monadnock Region's farmland called For Love of the Land: A Tribute to the Agricultural Way of Life. This year's exhibit, which was started about 18 years ago by Iselin and painter Ann Sawyer, will be on display at the Jaffrey Civic Center starting on November 10, when the whole thing kicks off with a 5 p.m. reception where viewers will have the opportunity to meet the artists: David Bulger, Francelia Mason Clark, Alicia Drakiotes, Iselin, Maryann Mullett, Sawyer, and Thieme. Thieme says that all of the work on display and available for sale will be original paintings (versus prints) but that the artists typically bring work in a variety of sizes at a variety of price points. "It's a tribute to farming, but it's also a tribute to a way of life," Thieme says. "It's very difficult now for farmers," she continues, citing issues like land being developed for other purposes, difficulties growing food for animals, and rising costs of gas and farm equipment. Many of the artists featured are familiar with this firsthand: All of them have some connection to farming beyond just finding inspiration in farmland and animals for their work. According to the event's press release, Iselin and Sawyer are the two artists who are farmers themselves. "Farming and animals are my life and love," says Sawyer, who began farming with her husband Peter in 1960 as the 5th generation on Sawyer Farm in Jaffrey. "Of course I paint it!" Iselin shares a similar sentiment: "I've always loved animals, gardening, and being around farms, and I married a farmer, so this is my life." While their paintings may share a common theme, each artist brings their own unique interpretation to the exhibit. Sawyer still has sheep, who she featured in her work for this exhibit along with portraits of her late husband's beefalo cattle at sunset and her grandchildren on the farm. Iselin decided to use this opportunity to experiment with pearlescent watercolor on black paper. "It challenges me to think in very different ways from painting on a lovely transparent surface," she says. "It has been exciting and opens different avenues of creativity. The animals seem happy about it." Thieme lives on Pipe Dream Farm in Swanzey and is closely connected to Mike Johnson's now-protected Ridge Hill Farm, the latter of which provided the most inspiration for her work for this exhibit. Drakiotes, who worked on a now-defunct dairy farm when she was in high school, also focused on agricultural landscapes, some of which she says are now developed for other uses. Clark is diving even deeper into that concept, exclusively featuring work on "Farms That Were." Instead of painting existing farm landscapes, her work is "a historical look at lands that long ago were farms" and is an exploration of "how the landscape has changed and morphed over the years into the scenery we have today," according to the press release. Finally, Bulger and Mullett, both of whom are known for their paintings of animals. For Mullett, a Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists who works primarily with pastels, cows and their "curiosity and sweet disposition" are a particular focus. Bulger aims to advocate for the protection of animals and where they live with his work. "Farms are so obviously critical to not just the character of the Monadnock Region, but to human life itself," Iselin shares when asked about her inspiration for focusing on farms with her art. "We're really blessed to be able to live here," Thieme says, noting that all the artists share a reverence for the remaining farmland in New Hampshire. "It's becoming more and more important that we treasure these open spaces. They're not making any more farmland."