How many roads does one travel in a lifetime? And can the road that once took us to our sweetest memory ever be traversed again? In 2021 my childhood home was sold and traces of my life there became just remnants of the past. That same summer my husband and I were driving his mom around Maine revisiting her favorite places. Deep down I think we all knew this would be her last road trip.

This series Drawing the Maine Roads, started then. As a passenger in the back seat of the car I needed to keep my hands busy, and my mind quiet while my husband navigated us along the state’s coastal routes.

I decided to “draw” the roads as we toured them. By loosely holding the end of a Sharpie marker over a pad of watercolor paper the pen bounced and swayed to reveal each surface: from bumps to gravel to newly paved highways. How else can one describe a road? These are visual depictions.

Once I had the series of drawings, I wanted to pair them with images of the routes we had roamed for so many years. Summertime I discovered was not the best season to capture the essence of these byways with their lush foliage and tourist traffic clogging the views.

During November of 2023, we returned to my home state of Maine. The leaves had abandoned the trees, and the tourists were scarce, even the locals seemed homebound. I photographed each unconventional road without distractions revealing their solitude and meandering ways. By matching these images with my drawings this project is a portrayal of memory, longing and the journeys we take.