A New Film Charts the Decline of American Barns

A New Film Charts the Decline of American Barns (<--click to link)

In 1935, 6.8 million farms operated across the United States, most with at least one barn. Now, just around 650,000 barns remain standing.

If that statistic is correct...well, that just makes me feel kind of sick.

Much of my artwork features barns.  I love them.

Other people love them. And after reading the article that I linked above I am more committed than ever to get out there, hitting the road, photographing as many of them as I can...before they aren't there any more.

I can't even wrap myself around that.  Can you?

It's not helping that everyone has to have barn wood for every freakin' project they take on now.

Case in point: that horrible television show where some company goes out and rapes old barns of their wood (sorry, they "deconstruct" them) for huge profit (sorry, for "preservation purposes").

I'm so passionate about this it makes me almost cry.  It's not quite the same as how I feel about animal poachers but you know what?  It does feel a little bit similar.

I cannot imagine taking long drives in the countryside and not seeing any barns.
I hope you can't either.

Maybe if everyone stops buying barn wood and buying into the whole barn wood = trendy it will help save the barns.

Here are a few resources for how to not use real barn wood:

HOW TO MAKE NEW WOOD LOOK LIKE OLD DISTRESSED BARN BOARDS

HEWN LIVING FINISH BARNWOOD

MONTANA GHOST WOOD: "Our mission is to provide an alternative reclaimed wood product to the growing demand for reclaimed wood and barn wood while preserving our historic monuments."