A Postcard from Cleveland (For Karen)

My first postcard of the series was for Karen, a dear friend I met while studying abroad in Mongolia many years ago. I painted her a watercolor scene of the living room at our Airbnb in Cleveland, Ohio - an old house our host bought for for $12,000 during the recession, and turned into something really beautiful. This is the way that Cleveland felt to me: somewhat scrappy and homegrown.

From Karen: 

"I'm Midwest/Great Plains rooted, mixed raced, INFJ (though maybe these days more of an E), female in my mid twenties. Trained as a food justice organizer, I love visiting farms, cooking up a storm, building power, and creating change. In my spare time I enjoy long walks, throwing pottery, conversations over tea, and sending postcards. I'm currently adventuring and living in Japan." 

Why Cleveland:

I spent one week last summer in a church in Columbus, Ohio: cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for 20 in the basement and sleeping in its couch filled sanctuary. My grandmother was born in columbus and raised in Xenia, and my childhood was filled with stories of Ohio. And now, my sister goes to school right outside of Cleveland.