They Worked the Land
by Susan Crawford-Young
Artist Statement
The closeup views of agricultural equipment show the working pieces of machinery that has grown our food for over 100 years. In fact, agriculture and food production have spurred the development of machinery in general which in turn has led to many of our technological inventions. Growing up I worked in my father’s machine shop – Manitou Manufacturing in Winnipeg, MB. There I learned the integrities of making machine parts for a variety of equipment including agricultural and aerospace parts. I am also an Engineer and Farmer and know the importance of these items. Making these parts and maintaining the machines they are a part of is truly an art. I have photographed some of the most intriguing images of these parts. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Biography
Moving to rural Southern Manitoba to live on a farm for 30 years has given Susan the opportunity to observe rural life from a different perspective. The large open fields, the wildlife and the way farm work is done are some of the rural views that she likes to depict in her work. She is a photographer, painter, and sometimes potter. She likes to keep the photography unenhanced and usually takes photographs for the basis of her paintings, but some photographs are better left in that medium. Her paintings are in acrylic, oil, and watercolour and my pottery is often made from the clay from her farm near Darlingford.
