Peppermint - Julie Miles Art

At the End of the Road

in the Middle of Nowhere

My grandpa was a peppermint farmer in the late 1940s in a tiny coastal Michigan town. The deep connection to the land, and the group effort among family and friends made this a fun and prosperous time for them. To understand the process I went to this place, and sat down with our dear family friend, Malcolm – who still lives in the house that neighboured my grandpa’s. As we shuffled through my old family photos, Malcolm explained the entire process: from planting the mint roots, hoeing the row mint by hand, harvesting and stomping it into the big metal tub, then distilling and drawing the essential oil.

Press the play button, then click on the first image in the gallery below and toggle through the images as Malcolm explains the mint process.

A note about the wooden panels

These are a tribute to my grandpa. He worked in the fields 6 days a week, for 40 years of his adult life. That equates to 12,480 days (this does not include dropping out of school in 8th grade to help his dad on the farm). Using a wood burning tool, I slowly burned a line for each of these days. It was a meditative process, imagining him going out each morning, repeating many of the same tasks, and being ever-present with the changing of the seasons. My grandpa was made of sun and soil.

Each panel measures approximately 5″ x 60″, varying slightly because of their unique nature. They may be hung individually, or in any grouping of 2 to 7 panels. They are light weight, needing only a small nail at the top.

At the End of the Road

in the Middle of Nowhere

EXHIBITED

press

WNC Woman Magazine, February 2016 issue

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