{"id":3347,"date":"2025-04-26T13:21:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T13:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/?page_id=3347"},"modified":"2025-04-27T18:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T18:02:09","slug":"dean-mccrillis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/dean-mccrillis\/","title":{"rendered":"Dean McCrillis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Dean McCrillis, Fiddlehead Triptych (River Bank, The Harvest, Full Bloom)<\/em>, oil on panel, 14 x 33 in., 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my eyes, the fiddlehead is a sign of spring\u2019s arrival\u2014an indication that conditions are right for growth. As a child, I remember seeing trucks and cars lined up beside my grandmother\u2019s house in late April and early May. Her property abutted a 100-yard stretch of the Swift River, one of the only spots in town easily accessible by car. Just beyond the shoulder of the road a steep bank dropped down to a narrow floodplain, maybe forty feet wide. It was fertile ground for the fledgling ferns which became ripe for picking only a few days at a time. Once they grew taller than a few inches off the ground you had to wait until the next season to harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My work is a thread that connects me to my place of origin. The land I grew up on was a source of sustenance for me, even beyond the physical. The Fiddlehead Triptych<\/em> is a reminder of the cyclical nature of things. It honors my grandmother and the people of my town who sought their own well-being through what nature could provide. This riverbank in Western Maine was a garden for those who could read the signs and pass that knowledge to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dean McCrillis, Fiddlehead Triptych (River Bank, The Harvest, Full Bloom), oil on panel, 14 x 33 in., 2024. In my eyes, the fiddlehead is a sign of spring\u2019s arrival\u2014an indication that conditions are right for growth. As a child, I remember seeing trucks and cars lined up beside my grandmother\u2019s house in late April and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17463,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3347"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17463"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3347"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3749,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3347\/revisions\/3749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/lcbates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}