Kathleen Kolb, American Painter
“The vast commercial enterprise and history of logging in Vermont seems like a hidden powerhouse without the public face (and attendant sympathy) that agriculture has here. My hope is that in making paintings to share this raw beauty, others will pause and pay attention to our forests and the work that is done in them with such skill and dedication. This is not to sidestep the complex issues involved with this resource and its management, but to pay attention first to its integrity.”
- Kathleen Kolb
In the winter 2007 issue of Northern Woodlands, Adelaide Tyrol profiled artist Kathleen Kolb, a fine painter who chronicles the logging industry in New England. The painting that we published, called Starting the Skidder, depicts a log landing on a winter morning. The scene evokes frozen fingers and squeaky snow, the smell of chainsaw grease and diesel fumes. The weak breaking sunlight in the background is both beautiful and ominously cold.
On January 17th, Kolb and folklorist Ann Ferrell will be at Middlebury College, where they’ll lead a discussion with folks who make their living starting skidders on cold mornings. If you’d like to attend, you can meet the people who appear in Kolb’s paintings and learn more about the work that they do.
The presentation, hosted by the Vermont Folklife Center, begins at 3 pm and will be held at The Franklin Environmental Center, Orchard Room 103.
To view Kolb’s logging paintings, go to www.kathleenkolb.com.
Here’s to rural culture and the synthesis of art and place.
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