Painting the awnings to read Art on the Farm

Today I'm out in the field painting the awnings to read Art on the Farm — each one a seven-by-seven panel of canvas that's about to become the studio's sign.

It's slow, careful work. Each letter gets its outline first, then fills in with a swirl of purple and blue, so the awnings don't just announce the farm, they look like something made here. The spray cans sit on the edges of the canvas while the paint dries, and cardboard underneath catches the overspray so the field stays a field.

There's something good about lettering your own name onto something so everyday — a canopy you'll fold up and haul out again next market day. It's the farm signing its work, the way I teach the students to sign theirs.