Depression-era Dreams

Depression-era charcoal drawing done on a brown paper bag, incorporated into piece, Hoohoo's Dream, 24 x 24 inches on plywood.

O N   W O O D — This piece utilizes one of my late aunt Hoohoo's drawings. It was charcoal on a brown paper bag-done during the early 30s, the worst of the Depression. Imagine a mother trying to encourage her young artist's talents, and having to cut up shopping bags for her to draw on. Hoohoo's Dream shows a colonial house on a pond, with a couple of boats floating on it, one full size and one 'lake sailer' toy boat—a large schooner just like the lake toy I found in the family's belongings decades later. Surrounded by pine trees and on a hill, it's very evocative of the Connecticut shoreline where I still live. I've also used a school photo of Hoohoo at around the same age as she was when she did this drawing. The paper bag was as brittle as the ash on the end of a cigarette, and would have turned to dust if I hadn't used it in this piece. I've also used dried leaves, just as brittle and fragile as the drawing itself, and something Hoohoo taught me to appreciate.