2018, acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20 in. This stylistic painting depicts a place that, somewhat humorously, played an outsized role in my formative years: the Plumtree Post Office. Growing up in Rural Appalachia with little to do, and without even a store parking lot to gather in, this building became our unofficial hangout after the “No Loitering” sign mysteriously disappeared from the brick. We parked and waited for someone to pull in, talked late into the night, met up with girlfriends and boyfriends, held impromptu “car shows,” and smoked cigarettes (Sorry, Mom!) on the "back porch." At the time of its creation, I did not realize the weight this painting would eventually carry. The original building was later destroyed by Hurricane Helene, and its remains were removed by construction crews, transforming the work into an unintended record of a place that only exists in memory.