It's Showtime!

Tulips Emerge, Sunday April 14, 2019. Photo by ERSwett

Spring at last.
I look at the tulips slowly
emerging from the soil and think:
"It's Showtime."

Dried Hosta Lace, Sunday April 7, 2019. Photo by ERSwett

No kidding.
And not just for the
mourning doves mating on our 
terrace or the hosta lace appearing from
beneath the snow.

Grouping images. Experimenting with size. It's Showtime. April 2019

 I'm actually going
to have my own show this
fall at ​AVA Gallery in Lebanon, NH!
There they will be - four years of Compost
Compositions, priced, framed,
curated and composed.

The first view: Framed Compost Compositions take over the dining room.

At first
I was unsure
when the exhibit director
suggested I show my work like
photographs are usually seen: printed
on paper, framed and behind glass. I had liked
the immediacy and simplicity of canvas.
But then I saw them framed and
understood. Wow, these
really are cool.

Two Degrees, 2018. Frame and glass? Not for this one.

Once again,
compost is my teacher,
reminding me to be aware of my
assumptions. ​For me, canvas was the point -
an invitation to literally 're-frame' my beliefs about
art and how things are 'supposed' to work.
More than just immediacy, canvas
seemed simpler, with fewer
materials and less
energy.

Packages of images on canvas arrive, March 2019. Photo by ERSwett

But then I
handled all the 
cardboard and tape
and compared this to the
small packet needed to ship ten
times as many prints on paper that I
could then have framed by local artisans...
and my thinking changed about
the waste and I realized the
trade-offs inherent
in the very idea
of a show
at all.

Planning for the first show continues, April 2019.

I asked:
Is it good enough?
Am I good enough for all this?
Then I look at the work and experience
an uncontainable surge
of energy. 

This is Compost, 9 (2018) hanging out in the kitchen.

I see that
the canvas is actually
too simple, too much like a poster
I could order from CVS. The paper, frames
and glass give this gorgeous garbage
​a presence that it deserves
​and I have earned.

Sarah Swett's tapestry, Jane's Picnic - an inspiration and a model.

Am I allowed
to say such things? Yes.
Because this work celebrates the
convergence of creativity and climate action
and in the process inspires joy and new ways of being
not just for me, but maybe for you as well. We
will only know, though, if it gets out
there...So get ready.​
It's Showtime!