Let's Reframe: By Degrees

Unfiltered & Full Circle

2/28/2020

 
Picture
Coffee filters & peas from Umpleby's Bakery & Cafe in Hanover, NH Photo by ERSwett
So here
they are. More
coffee filters. In the
raw, straight from the pile
and into the bucket.
Salvaged once
again.

Picture
First rinse, still in the 5-gallon bucket. Photo by ERSwett
I wonder
if the original
cup of coffee or frothy
cappuccino was as compelling
to look at and as sumptuous to smell as
these filters getting their
​first rinse?
Picture
They are just so cool. Extraction from the bucket. Photo by ERSwett
I love
working with
these strange pieces of
paper. When we have coffee at our
house, which is rare, we use a French Press. So
for me, these are an entirely new material which have, until
recently, just been part of my decomposing compost.
Now, though, with my sister's inspiration,
they have become yet another
invitation to explore
our material
world.
Picture
Unfiltered coffee filters ready for final rinse. Photo by ERSwett
When I 
take them out
of the 5-gallon compost
collection bucket and move them
into the rinsing tub in our sink, these dirty
filters become precious materials
filled with creative
​potential.
Picture
Everything needs a bath once in a while. Photo by ERSwett
These 
coffee filters
are soft between my
fingers when I pull them out
of the tub and hang them up to dry.
Once on the rack, all I notice
is the play of light on
their textured
fiber.
Picture
Coffee Filter Abstraction Photo by ERSwett
All I
want to do
is move in closer to
explore these materials about
which I know so little. Once again, my
compost invites me to consider more than meets
the eye. While I have an idea of what my sister, Sarah C.
Swett
, might create out of these filters, their
back story, like so many back
stories, remains a
​mystery.
Picture
Colored coffee filter fiber created by Sarah C. Swett Photo by ERSwett
Clearly,
this narrative
is unfolding as I write,
Sarah's imagination leading her
and my investigations taking me where
they go. But here we are, unfiltered, making it
up along the way. It does seem, however, that ours is
a circular narrative, filled with the ebbs
and flows of our lives and
curiosities.
Picture
Hand woven bracelet with coffee filter fiber & more filters ready for repurposing. Photo by ERSwett
Stay tuned for ​more...

Making It Up As We Go

2/23/2020

 
Picture
Bracelet woven with coffee filter thread and other materials spun by Sarah C. Swett Photo by ERSwett
Years ago,
my sister and I
pledged to not give each
other presents on birthdays and at
holidays. We are allowed, however, to give
each other this or that when the mood feels right. In late
2018, she sent me this bracelet she had woven with, among other
fibers, coffee filters. Who knew that coffee filters would become one of
her muses throughout 2019 and into 2020? It made sense, then,
that when I went to visit her a few weeks ago, I would
bring more filters from my compost collection
collaboration with Umpleby's Cafe
​in Hanover, NH.
Picture
Washing a gift for my sister: coffee filters from Umpleby's compost Photo by ERSwett
It was
no surprise
when I came to 
her studio a few days
after arriving and found that 
she had already begun transforming
those filters into fiber, testing the differences
between the Umpleby's filters and
others she receives from
friends near and far. 
Picture
Swirling coffee filters and a coffee filter bag in the making all by Sarah C. Swett Photo by ERSwett
It was also
no surprise that
within a few days, she
had given me a copy of her
design for A Sweater Somewhat Slanted
and had taken me to The Yarn
Underground in Moscow,
ID to find just the 
right wool.
Picture
Stitching triangles - a mending project and the beginning of A Sweater Slightly Slanted Photo by ERSwett
Among
all the beautiful
wool at the yarn store,
I kept returning to this particular
pinky, reddy, orangy shade with a hint
of yellow mixed in. When I started knitting the
​first few rows, I realized that this was uncannily similar
to the colors of two childhood sweaters -
one made by my grandmother in
1972 and another by my
​mother in 1974.
Picture
Handmade sweaters by my mother (left), my grandmother (right) and me (middle) Photo by ERSwett
It's a bit
odd because
neither my mother
nor my grandmother was
a big knitter. It's also odd that
with all my purges and clean-outs,
I had saved these two sweaters and had
actually just taken them out of
​storage a few days before
going to Idaho. Clearly
I was not in charge
of my color
choice!

Picture
So for
a week, we 
knit, together and
apart. I discovered that my
hands remembered how to create 
a sweater out of wool and that I could
even read and knit at the same time. I had seen
Sarah doing this and thought it was one of
her superpowers, but it turns out it's
not so hard when you're working
with a simple yet elegant
pattern like the ones
she designs.

Picture
Who knew? Reading & knitting at the same time during a quiet afternoon moment. Photo by Sarah Walker
I love that
our relationship is no
longer ​about who's thinner or
prettier or more accomplished. Both in
our 50's (for a few more months), we now explore
our creative lives and the world in general
together. We can finally admire our
differences and celebrate
all that we share.
Picture
Sharing the emergence of something entirely new from a dress we both wore long ago. Photo by Sarah Walker
Sarah
has instinctively
allowed her superpowers
to evolve over the past decades.
It's taken me a bit longer to discover mine,
and to let them flourish. I love that I embroidered my
first stitch at the same time she sent me that coffee filter bracelet.
It was like a subversive invitation to just go for it, whatever
'it' might be. And here we are, more than a year
later, and I've embroidered an entire dress
and she is working on her second
knitted coffee ​filter bag. 
Picture
My first embroidered 'sampler' with an excerpt from Walt Whitman's poem This Compost. Photo by ERSwett
Thankfully,
neither one of us
knows where our respective
superpowers will take us. We do know,
however, that 
when the shit hits the fan and life
throws us 
curve balls, we will harness our
gifts & create beauty out of
whatever materials
are at hand.
Picture
Sarah knitting more of her coffee filter bag. Photo by ERSwett

“Whatever our gift,
we are called to give it and
to dance for the renewal of the world.
In return for the privilege
of breath.”

- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Picture
Figuring out the shoulder straps on my Sweater Somewhat Slanted Photo by SCSwett
I'm now
home & am thrilled
to snuggle with my dog and
to hang out with my beautiful compost.
That said, nothing can replace how I feel when
I am with Sarah. I wonder what gifts we will unwittingly
exchange next? You can be sure, though, that
salvaged coffee filters will be part of
the mix and that 
we will be
making it 
all up
as ​we go.
Picture
Salvaged coffee filters drying earlier today Photo by ERSwett

I'm into Love, Actually

2/16/2020

 
Picture
handmade wedding ring created and worn by my nephew Henry Edwards
A silver
wedding band,
made with love, to express
love, intentionally shows the markings
that occurred during the creation
process. A pure acceptance
of life's bumps and
beauty.
Picture
Black boots from The Pink Alligator in West Lebanon, NH
A beloved
pair of black boots
bought because they fit
perfectly...and felt great from
the first moment. Previously owned
shoes are wonderful that
way. Broken in, they
are ready, just
for me.
Picture
JV girls hockey teams express gratitude somewhere in CT
My daughter's 
JV hockey team says
thank you...I love watching
them play, going fast, falling down,
passing perfectly, missing the puck entirely,
they play with joy and a commitment
to each other. It's about showing
up, learning something new
and laughing just 
because.
Picture
fabric scraps from my mother-in-law
Love is
silly, really.
It's amazing how
I can use that word to 
express feelings for such a
variety of things. There is love for
a life partner, love for a pair of boots, 
love for a child's hockey game and love for
a mixed and mingled set of discarded scraps of
cloth. It seems that the more open I am
to this strange emotion, the more
I am able to feel and notice
it - everywhere.
Picture
refinishing a child's cabinet
When
refinishing
this child's cabinet
my mother made for me
and my sister in 1971, I can feel
her love - - it's embedded in the yellow
and green flowers, dots and letters. I wondered,
when I put on the first coat of primer, if I was somehow
erasing that love. But it turns out that the act of transforming
this wooden structure 50 years later and giving it new life magnifies
that emotion. I could have easily thrown this 'toy' away, but
for some reason I couldn't. So here it is, getting a
makeover and, in the process, shedding
light on the transformative power
of love in its many
shapes and
​sizes.
Picture
mending an ancient t-shirt in Assisted Living
And here 
I am continuing
to mend my favorite
27 year old t-shirt while 
waiting for my mother-in-law
to return from PT. Love for a t-shirt is
nothing like love for my children's
grand-mother, but it's love
just the same.
Picture
Tiekel sleeps at home in Idaho
And when
a dog curls up in
his bed on a cold winter's
day, knowing he will be fed and
​walked and have his needs met, he 
knows he is loved. And how
can we not love such
faithful creatures?
It's a two-way
thing.
Picture
another Compost Composition by ERSwett
So why
not love my
compost pile? I 
feed it and it
feeds me.
Picture
inaugural Community Climate Conversation at Salt Hill Pub in Hanover, NH
And why
not love it when
a group of people gets
together to laugh and learn
together during a Community Climate
Conversation? Although I find the play of light
in this particular scene compelling, it
is the gathering itself that fills
me with joy. It, too, is a
different kind of 
love.
Picture
I think 
the love I feel
for a group gathering
to cope with climate is like
the love I feel for the earth when
I witness snow-covered mountains rising
above the clouds. It's an abstract kind
of affection, one that satisfies a
non-specific but core
need to share the
gift of being...
Picture
a multi-generational gathering of friends
...together

A Community Climate Conversation

2/13/2020

 
Picture
Inaugural Hanover Community Climate Conversation at Salt Hill Pub, Hanover, NH February 4, 2020
Who knew
that 20 people would
show up for Hanover's inaugural 
Community Climate Conversation? With just 
a few hand-made notices around town
and in a few 
social media outlets,
we drew a 
small crowd.
How cool 
is that?
Picture
Handmade Poster for Hanover Community Climate Conversation, 2020
Indeed,
what does the climate
have to do with 
fashion and clothing?
As it turns out, more than most of us know or understand.
Apparel and footwear accounted for 8% of global greenhouse gas
emissions in 2016 (more carbon than international flights
and maritime shipping), is the second largest
consumer of the world's water supply,
and pollutes oceans with micro-
plastics and rivers with
toxic chemicals.
Picture
My favorite black boots purchased on consignment from The Pink Alligator in West Lebanon, NH
Clothes 
are also something
we wear every day and that can
often make our day. I know that is the case
for me. My black boots give a kick to my step and my
long purple wool cardigan embraces me and gives me confidence.
There is no reason to feel bad about dressing in garments
that make us feel good. Our challenge is learning
how to wear clothes that both feel
great and don't harm
the earth.
Picture
Kim Souza, Owner of Revolution in White River Junction, VT Photo by ERSwett
I loved hearing
Kim Souza, owner of
Revolution (in White River
Junction, VT) talk about how she 
curates her store. While some dresses
or fun socks might sell big, she will not sell them
if they are not made in the US or ethically produced.
Joan Ecker, Founder of Fat Hat Clothing,
shared valuable insights about the
costs of clothing production
​and the dangers of
'greenwashing.'
Picture
Dr.LeeAnn T Rutkovsky shares her wisdom with Joan Ecker, Founder Fat Hat Clothing, and others Photo by ERSwett
For me,
laughter was
the best part of the
evening. Here were a bunch
of people, some more interested in
'fashion' than others, who came together
to begin a conversation about climate that actually 
started with what we were wearing. By
sharing stories about our clothes
in an informal setting we got
to know each other in a
different kind of
way.

Picture
Self portrait wearing favorite 24 year old wool sweater Photo by ERSwett
Just as one
wool sweater is 
not the same as another
(was the wool sustainably harvested,
were the sheep treated well, were the people
who assembled the garment paid a living wage?),
no two people have the same relationship to their wardrobes
and how their clothes make them feel. Like so much
in the climate conversation, there is always
more than meets the eye. Can you tell,
for example, that this ancient &
beloved turtleneck was
repaired last
​week?
Picture
Armpit holes waiting for attention Photo by ERSwett
In my last
blog post, Compost,
Fiber and Fashion
, I considered
the power of re-imagining my clothes and,
in the process, re-imagining myself. At their heart,
these reflections come from my ongoing concern for and
fascination with waste, not just of food, but of
everything. My mother-in-law saved 
her hems, because she hated
things going to waste.
Picture
Sashiko style repairs Photo by ERSwett
I repaired this
twenty-four year old
wool turtleneck sweater I bought
at a street fair in Germany because I love it,
and it seemed wasteful to find another one when I
could ​mend this one. It seems to me that how we connect
to our clothing may perhaps reflect how we think
not just about ourselves, but also about
what it means to be wasteful
in general.
Picture
Old sweater, new life & a new look Photo by ERSwett
I hope that
our first Community
Climate Conversation inspires
those who attended to think more deeply
about what they wear. More importantly, though,
I hope our laughter invites others to join these gatherings,
knowing that we find joy and have fun while
paying attention to topics that we
know about and love.

Picture
This is where we'll be: The cozy corner at Still North Book in Hanover Photo by ERSwett
Next Community Climate Conversation:
What's the Story of OUR Stuff?
(bring an object you love)
​

March 3, 2020 @ Still North Books, Hanover, NH
​5:30 - 7:30 pm

Facilitator: Marc Morgan
(By day, the manager of Lebanon, NH's solid waste facility;
By night, an advocate for deeper thinking
about what we consume
and why)
    Picture
    Lyn Swett Miller
    ​
    reframing the narrative, one day, one image at a time
    Picture
    compost re-imagined
     Let's ReFrame: By Degrees
    A place where photographer Lyn Swett Miller considers wonder, joy and transformation in a complex world.

    Archive

    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018

© Copyright 2021
Evelyn R Swett Photography
All Rights Reserved