The farm is a physical place and a symbolic space that exists both there, in Amasa, Michigan, and here, in my conceptual understandings of home and family.

You are Here.

Even though the farm was there because we lived so far away from it, it was HERE: my home, my guiding force, the space that I could always go to to be reminded of the Sara-who-exists-through-time-and- is-connected-to-other-Puotinens.

You are There.

Now, the farm is only THERE. It was sold in 2004 and is no longer a place to return to. When I visit Amasa, I can drive by it but I’m only looking in from the outside, at a distance.

What happens when HERE becomes THERE? Where is HERE now?

You are Where?

The farm is now only an imagined/imaginary place, a virtual HERE. But it still exists THERE, fixed in space on Townline Road and fixed in time through the history of the Puotinen family and the Amasa community.

What is HERE? What is THERE? Does somewhere exist in-between the immediacy of here and the distance of there? Can we be both here and there?

in process, early 2015

As I continue to explore these questions, my hope is that this site can serve as a place that exists somewhere in-between here and there. By the end of 2015, I plan to supplement my reflections on this page with more content—a few maps, video tours of the farm buildings and property, some history of the area—and experiment with different ways to use this virtual space as a somewhat-surrogate for being at the Farm.