Some Things Must Stay Home

Walt Whitman's "This Compost" & Maidenhair ferns...in process.

If you've
been reading
my blog or following
me on Instagram, you'll know
that I was planning to include my altered
Cotillion Dress in my current
solo show at AVA
​Gallery.

Compost Compositions in the Mayor Gallery at AVA in Lebanon, NH Fall 2019

If you've been
to AVA to find the dress,
you'll know that it's
not there. 

The mixing and mingling of wool threads on a silk dress.

It intrigues
me how the creative
process works, and how hard
it can be to separate one thread from
another when they all feel
integral to each 
other.

Embroidered excerpts from Walt Whitman's poem "This Compost" by ERSwett.

The dress
evolved from last
year's curiosity about how
I could share Walt Whitman's poem
"This Compost" in a colorful and affordable
manner by embroidering it on old
things, like a pillowcase or
a cloth diaper from
the 1960's.

Embroidered final stanza of Whitman's "This Compost" by ERSwett

While 
embroidering,
I listened to numerous
podcasts about art, women,
the climate crisis, racial justice and
the idea of white fragility. Each voice I heard 
inspired me to rethink my past and
my relationship to it. And then
I remembered the white
dress in the attic...

Giving life to an old dress with ferns from our yard.

And
it all began
because I love the
colors of compost and so
started taking pictures of it all the
time...until, magically, I had
what they call a 'body
of work' worth
sharing.

Dryer Lint, 2019 Photograph on Paper, 24" x 24" By ERSwett

But sometimes,
what you love most just
has to stay home. In this case, I am
grateful that I gave my work to the Exhibits
Director at AVA and let her decide. The dress, even
though it seemed essential to the show for
me, just didn't fit and would have
been a distraction.

Bulbs, 2019 Photograph on Paper, 18" x 18" By ERSwett.

I am grateful
to this beautiful piece
of silk and lace for inviting me
to explore my own identity as a creative
person, not just with a camera,
but in life. The dress, as
companion, has 
been key.

Self-Portrait in The Dress...in process...before the maidenhair, poem and other alterations. By ERSwett