Description

Cottage Life is a series of original watercolor sketches that I made for a family cookbook featuring iconic images from the large log cottage my great-grandparents bought in Central Wisconsin during the polio years.  My mother and a bunch of her cousins from the five branches of the family spent whole summers there under the supervision of their grandparents and an occasional mom.  I went to the cottage frequently as a child, on weekends, but never spent a whole summer there.  Since that time, the whole ever-expanding family has gathered there on the 4th of July.  Close to 70 people stay in the long-house like cottage filled with bunk beds, double beds, rows of single beds and fold-out futons.  The couple with the youngest baby gets to have one of the two bedrooms in the loft, with a crib.  The rest of the family sleeps in tents, or at the local motel, or at B&Bs in the area.

We all get along very well, and because of the cottage, I know my mother’s cousins and their spouses, their children, and their childrens’ children.  No TVs have ever been allowed.  It’s a place of sing-alongs, Sheepshead card games, bratwurst and corn roasts, horseshoes, swimming, and quite a bit of drinking.

These watercolors are the originals for the illustrations in the cookbook.  If any of you are interested in prints, let me know—they’re $50 each.  And if you want a cookbook, for $75 plus shipping, we can arrange that, too.

Weber Grills.  12×15 frame.  Image is 6.5” x 8”.  $325.  (If you need me to ship, I will do so without the glass).