Art Drop #23: Red Barns

An unexpected gift in an anxious time.

Taxes. Liabilities. Client acquisition. Shipping Fees. Transaction Fees. Profit margins. Accountant fees. Insurance. Penalties. Recession fears. Healthcare deadlines. Tom’s citizenship application. Dwindling reserves. Rising food costs. Camp registration. Meal plans. Budgets. Primary care physician shortage. Car inspection. Vehicle excise tax. Bills that keep coming.

Sometimes I truly hate being an adult.

Is it any wonder we see but can’t compose? We’re breathing but we can’t exhale. We need to eat but don’t feel hungry. This knot within needs to loosen; it cannot be tightened any more if we hope to one day undo it.

I feel an internal rebellion to these unrelenting stresses of life – it is simply not my natural state. Is it anyone’s? My default is to approach the world with a sense of wonder, finding joy in what I take the time to observe, and photography is a modality to channel this way of being.

I can take it as a sign of my own resilience that somehow I actually managed to compartmentalize the stress and make some good pictures in the month of March. I also owe a debt of gratitude to some red barns, that were beautiful enough to lure me with my camera on various days in various light until I felt satisfied.

An unexpected gift of getting out of the car to photograph the barns was getting serenaded by song sparrows, red-winged blackbirds and crows. Press play to stand next to the barns with me and listen to the sounds of spring unfolding in the Berkshires:

Art Drop #23

The cheerful song of the aptly-named song sparrow (one of the most underrated birds in my opinion) always puts me in a good mood. As you enjoy the birdsong, allow me to present this month’s art drop:

Red Barns in March
Great Barrington, MA, USA
by Diana Pappas

Prints of this photograph are only available through April 7, 2025 with no further production of this work for at least a year. To learn more, order a print, or request a larger size click the button below to visit the art drop page on our website.

For those of you curious enough to make it this far, I’d like to offer a 4 x 6” gift of our test print. There is only one available to whoever requests it first. I’d be happy to send it your way. UPDATE: This gift has been given – yay!

Thanks for reading.

Diana

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