Spinning Pins

"...appear to be the thickness of stone...":

An itinerant artist arrives on foot at a wealthy home, itself patterned after Greek temples. It is meant to be seen from the river. It is built in either 1820-1860 or the late 20th century; in either case it is a mimic.

The artist is hired to paint a mural in the dining room. It will depict a version of life at this very estate: a half-finished fence, an animal with its head down, people bent to their work. Clouds as solid as cliffs. One man approaches on a horse. This is an idea of rootedness and agrarian forcefulness. It is a florid explanation of a disappeared past. The clan wants its trees to bloom during supper.

Meanwhile, the artist himself is never at home.

He becomes involved with a house servant who weaves cloth for the family. Or, she mows the lawn. She lives inland in her mind, walking back and forth.