6x24 inches
acrylic, watercolor paper, kraft paper on stained maple panel
$495

The Jobs of Yesteryear series combines history and surrealism to tell the stories of obsolete jobs. A contemporary glimpse into the past, these mixed media paintings serve as a reminder of a time and stories long forgotten.

This particular Job of Yesteryear mixed media painting features a churner. The tradition of buttermaking has been around for thousands of years throughout the world. Early methods included putting milk (mainly goat, as they were domesticated much earlier than cows) in an animal skin sack and agitating the milk by rocking it back and forth or attaching it to the side of a pack animal. The dash or plunge churn was invented sometime during the Middle Ages and involved a long pole with a plunger on the end thrust up and down into a barrel of milk. This was used up until the Industrial Revolution when other churns (barrel and paddle churn) replaced it. Butter making was an essential chore of every household until the 18th and 19th centuries when butter was commercialized.

The Churner II was created with acrylic paint. The long-limbed character was cut from paper and collaged with kraft paper. The Jobs of Yesteryear are thought-provoking conversation pieces that will bring an air of history and whimsy to any room.