Digging In

There was something about the email from the Dover Arts Commission that made me take note. The subject read, "Your Submissions Are Required". I could feel a thing like rebellion kicking up inside... "Required, huh? We'll see about that." The call for submissions outlined the work sought by the Arts Commission and Historic New England for an exhibit called "A Seacoast Garden" - it said the work should be "inspired by nature and the vibrant colors of summer."

Somehow, this struck me as a challenge. "Yes, I will submit - but I won't give you pretty flowers. I'll give you dirt!... and rocks and roots and grubby little bugs." The pursuit of pretty just isn't on my agenda. Can I get an amen?!

I set out to work in the garden at my house in Rollinsford, NH and took some "dirty" photos. My goal was to put a focus on the underworld of the garden, the dirt and rocks, root and shoots - the wild and chaotic foundation of the cultivated space above.

My process was to find rocks in the flower beds. The three samples I identified were 6-12 inches in size and firmly planted in the soil. First, I photographed the rock and the greenery around it, and then my husband assisted me in the shoot by digging up the rock and flipping it over so that I could then photograph the newly revealed soil below. The photos are an exploration of the value and meaning of the garden beyond the ornamental.

I ended up submitting three diptychs of garden spaces both with a rock and without a rock:

Under the Peonies - with rock

Under the Peonies - without rock

Under the Raspberries

Under the Ferns

I included this project statement about the work with my submission, "We regard the garden as a planned and cultivated space, but in reality, it's teeming with chaos and ever-present change. The photographs displayed examine the hidden life under the garden - the rocks and soil, the roots and shoots, and the endless creatures that live therein. The work explores the dichotomy of the garden as a planned space above and a wild terrain just below the surface."

I hit send with an evil little grin on my face. "I wonder what they'll make of this work... heh heh heh." A few weeks later, I learned despite the fact that I didn't choose pretty, I still had work accepted to the show. A victory for my inner rebel!

A Seacoast Garden opens Thursday, July 10th with an opening reception from 5-7 pm and runs through October 12th at The Sarah Orne Jewett House in South Berwick, ME.