Kathryn Phelan

The illustrations below were created as part of a group exhibition at Bushel Collective in Delhi, New York for the show DON’T SHEEP on the meditation of Tools, running from 7-January, 2023 to 28-February, 2023.

The tools that hold interest to me are those powered by physical action versus mechanical motors, as they require a relationship & collaboration between object and individual in order to accomplish a task. They become functional extensions of our being.

I interviewed four local farmers to discover what their favourite tools are, the reasoning behind their selections and how they use them.

This large tent stake nail is the perfect diameter to pre-set a hole for fence posts on Jackie Evans sheep farm in Andes, NY.

Tom was (and still is) a musician before farming took over daily life. His guitar-tuning pliers have been repurposed as duck pin feather pluckers as the smooth grip grasps them better than anything else.

Shannon is a 7th generation dairy farmer, so she knows a thing or two about pitchforks. This antique one is perfectly weighted for her.

Nick is an axe expert, and has strong opinions about their respective qualities. This one features a handle from his favourite hometown hardware store, and a head that keeps a sharp edge for splitting wood.