2026 05 27

Farmland outside Odell, Illinois. June 2024 © Clayton Hauck

Two years ago I made this image. I’m sitting on the couch in my studio, behind on seemingly every task. All of my jobs, my house tasks, my taxes still haven’t been filed! I’m well aware that I’ve been stretching myself far too thin for too long. This week has felt like the beginning of a breaking point. Crisis in each job at the same time. It’s all too much. Something needs to change.

A thought experiment: if I give up one, two, or even all three of my jobs, how would I fill the time? The first thing that comes to mind, honestly, is Ill Wandering. Making images like this one above while exploring the endless country. The trouble is, all of my logic tells me this is not a job; it’s a hobby. Not many people want to look at photos of rural Illinois let alone pay me money for them. So I persist in my working purgatory, pushing ahead at three jobs in hopes that one of them catches wind and makes me some actual money which can then fuel the wandering. The farmland will always be there, awaiting my lens without concern. Time is where my concern starts to creep in, as one year turns to two, then three.

Keep wandering.

-Clayton