To The Bone

To the Bone is a photography project documenting daily life and work on a small family farm in the Hudson Valley. Emily, a single mother, manages her small farm with the help of her young daughters. Sheep, goats, chickens and children roam free among the detritus of farm life. The seemingly idyllic setting contrasts sharply with the gritty hard work of maintaining the farm and with Emily’s personal choice to live off the land. Emily had warned me when we met that they did not live like other families. Their openness and trust frightened me initially, but at the same time it all seemed oddly familiar. When I am with them, I feel at home. Emily’s story could be my story or that of countless women struggling to keep their home and family together after unexpected loss and hardship. The work was created between 2021 and 2026.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by CREATE Council on the Arts.