The Art of Farming

Michael Martin Murphey, Wandering Western Balladeer

"Motley’s book about farming on a small scale turns the challenges of growing clean food into heroic adventure. Eternal truths about the way the Sacred Soil reveals itself to a farmer as one discovers Growth come shining through with the infinitely variegated subtle colors of flowers, fruits, roots, shoots, leaves, nuts, seeds and pods. In one scene, in which he describes a special kind of cucumber that puzzles and delights his customers at the local farmer's market, Motley frames the beauty of heritage seeds. This book underscores the tragedy of senseless genetic modification even as Motley the Farmer/Artisan communicates the pure joy of participation in the natural, mystical progression of human interaction with the Earth. It's the Ballad of the Green Man set to a Waltz Across Texas!

E. Luanne McKinnon PhD, former Director of the University of New Mexico Art Museum and the Bruce A. Beal Distinguished Director at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College

“T. D. Motley has crafted a deeply felt story about the North Texas farm life. The Art of Farming colorfully brings Bartlett Farm alive through the farmer’s care for one donkey and several horses, chickens, cows, lambs, the land in all weather, and close ties to his family and community. The story is about seeing and looking closely. It is about making and preserving. Above all, it is about gratitude for the land, the animals, and one another.”

Judy Tedford Deaton, Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions and Collections, The Grace Museum

“Tom Motley’s tale of a rural Renaissance on a Texas farm enchants and transports you into a realm that combines art history, a treatise on organic gardening while rewriting Orwell’s Animal Farm into Beatrix Potter’s, charming tales of Peter Rabbit. Only Motley could insert Renoir, Degas, and Monet into this scenario that is both autobiographical and a panacea for the woes of contemporary culture. Grab your favorite Bunnykins teacup, relax, and relish every word.”

Jon Frembling, Gentling Curator and Head Archivist, Amon Carter Museum of American Art

“Tom Motley brings the charm of the natural raconteur to a gentle elegy for rural Texas. His is a story told with the graceful meanders of John Graves’ Brazos in Goodbye to a River, mixed with the artist’s eye for the beauty of the Texas landscape and seasons, rendered like a Whistler etching of an Onderdonk bluebonnet painting.”

Linnea Glatt, Texas artist

“A detailed log of life in the country, The Art of Farming connects Sam Bartlett's rural experience to art history, classical literature, and ancient myth. It is about family traditions, local color, and anecdotal advice all told through a seasonal calendar. T.D. Motley simultaneously teaches us how to make a raised-bed garden and how to make a landscape drawing! The novel's wily and often confounding four-legged characters come alive through the author's affectionate pen and ink illustrations. My favorite passage compares the stunning stained glass of gothic Sainte Chapelle in Paris to the light filtering through the branches of the farm's old Bois de Arc grove. This is only one of the nuggets that leaves this reader hoping the story won’t end.”

Rick Wells, restaurateur and hotelier, McKinney, Texas

“This captivating tale follows Sam Barlett and his cohort of farm animals as they cultivate heirloom varietals for chefs, farmers' markets, and their family while infusing art and history along the way. Set against the picturesque backdrop of rural Texas, this story brings his passion to life for others to enjoy.”

Matt McCallister, Dallas chef and restaurateur

“What a beautiful book! Upon picking a lemon cucumber off a wire trellis in Tom’s garden I was reminded of the simple fact that he and I lived out our little vocations as artist—meaning more of a way of living than making a living!”