La artista Clara Cohan y su experiencia de cabaña

1972. Clara in the sculpture studio at the Chautauqua Institute.

1977 - 1985

The most defining time period for me, were the years between 1977 and 1985. Knowing that I wanted to be a full-time artist, and knowing income would be fairly non-existent, I chose to develope a life-style to support my goals and financial challenges. A self-sufficient living situaltion is what I needed to create. First, buy land and then build a small home.

"I hired and worked side-by-side with a young man, who was just starting his own construction business, and his grandfather, who had been building for years. In this fashion, I learned the basics of construction. I purchased five acres of wooded land in upstate New York and built a small cabin. I lived here for eight years, growing my own food, fishing and foraging wild greens, heating and cooking on a wood stove, choosing to not to hook up to the electric company. With a few hours dedicated to daily chores, the rest of my day was filled with drawing and painting. I co-founded the Battenkill Art League which provided stimulation from a community of artists. A mix of commercial art work and art festivals provided enough income.

Also during this time frame, I would make many sojourns to the desert southwest, Inspired by the color and forms of the landscape, and the spiritual aspect of the wide open spaces, I created my "Mandala Sandpainting" series. This was another expressive form that showed me vividly that symbols are the language of the unconscious, the inner self, and speak in universal ways." (Clara Cohan)

1977 - 1985

"El período de tiempo más definitorio para mí, fueron los años entre 1977 y 1985. Sabiendo que yo quería ser artista a tiempo completo, y saber que los ingresos serían bastante inexistentes, decidí desarrollar un estilo de vida para mis metas y retos financieros. Una situación de vida autosuficiente es lo que necesitaba para crear. En primer lugar, comprar tierras y, a continuación, construir una casa pequeña.

Contraté a un hombre joven, que estaba empezando su propio empresa de construcción, y su abuelo, quien ya había construido durante años. De esta manera, aprendí los conceptos básicos de construcción.

Compré cinco acres de tierras boscosas en el norte de Nueva York y construí una pequeña cabaña. Allí viví durante ocho años, cultivando mi propia comida, pescando y buscando hierbas silvestres, calentando y cocinando con leña, eligiendo no engancharme a la compañía eléctrica. Con unas horas dedicadas a tareas cotidianas, el resto del día lo llené de dibujo y pintura. Fui la cofundadora de la Liga de arte de Battenkill que proporcionaba estímulos a una comunidad de artistas. Una mezcla de obras comerciales y festivales de arte me proporcionaron suficientes ingresos.

También durante este período de tiempo, haría muchos viajes al desierto del suroeste, inspirada por el color y las formas del paisaje y el aspecto espiritual de los amplios espacios abiertos, creé mi serie "Mandala Sandpainting". Ésta fue otra forma expresiva que me mostró claramente que los símbolos son el lenguaje del inconsciente, el yo interior y hablan de manera universal." (Clara Cohan)

The Cabin Years

The Cabin was 20' x 20' with a full loft. Kitchen, bath and living room were downstairs. Bedroom and studio, upstairs. The crawl-space/foundation was used as a root cellar and cold storage.

Water was gravity fed into the house from a spring higher up on the hill.

2" x 6" construction left plenty of room for insulation. All wood came from a local mill and was rough-sawn.

Attached to the cabin (on the left) was the wood shed. Two cords of wood were needed to get through the winter. Wood was harvested from the five acres of woodlands that the cabin occupied. As the wood was used up, a hand-made barrel wood stove was exposed. Statigically placed, so that by spring, this stove could be used day and night to boil down sap gathered from the maple trees.

Also attached, was a multi-leveled cold-frame for making hardy the seedlings to be planted after the last frost.

The Garden was the essential element to living self-sufficiently. Much attention was given to composting, tending the baby seedings, weeding, watering, harvesting and putting up food.

Foraging for wild greens, mushrooms, berries, nuts was another aspect of providing nutrition. Fishing was another. There was also trading with neighbors for milk, cheese and other goods.

Working at a local co-op, provided bulk items such as rice, olive oil, etc.

And there were the chickens for a fresh supply of eggs and some meat.

This is Leroy, my resident scarecrow.

He did his job, because I never lost any crops to the deer or other critters.

I will mention here, that Leroy stands about 5'-5" tall......

I mention that so that one can see what can happen living in the foothills of the Green Mountains.

It was spring, the garden ready for planting.

April 30th......

That's Leroy, up to his armpits in snow!
Planting was put on hold.

The cabin was warm and cozy.In the center, was a wood cook-stove facing into the kitchen, and a pot-belly stove facing into the living room.

Interior walls were made up of hardwood planks gathered from a local mill that made pallets.

Freshly canned goods are seen on the counter. Dried beans, rice, etc, can be seen in jars on the shelves.

With no electricty, cold storage was obtained by sinking a cooler into the crawl space, with access through a door in the kitchen floor.

And the black dog....my most loyal companion, BearDog.

For eight years, this was our home. A simple, nourishing, life of daily chores, walks through the woods and fields, helping other back-to-the-land friends, and still having plenty of time for painting and drawing.

Obra artistica de Clara Cohen

http://www.harborsquaregallery.com/claracohen/?nggpage=2
http://www.claracohan.com/artist.html