Back to all Ephemera

CROWD sourced ephemera:

PAGE 1 -Last names A-H: Elisa Albert, Ed + Miller Schwarzschild; Beatrice Appleton Mathis; Samantha Appleton; Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir; Hillary Babick; Jordia Benjamin; Kate Berger; Jeff Bergman; Sarah Braik; Vicky Braik-Bourget; Bill Brayton; Nico Chin; Jim Chute; Sarah Coleman; Kate Cordaro; Lorraine DeLaney; Nicole Deller; Natalie Diaz; Mark Dion; Angela Dufresne; Colin Dusenbury; Peter “Bubba” Ellef; Lauren Fensterstock + Aaron T Stephan; Katie Fitch, Joe, Winona + Delila Wardwell; Aprile Gallant; Jessie Gerteis; Christine Gianopoulos; Kristi Gibson; Heather Grace Gordy; Layne Gregory; Molly Haight; Jessie Hallowell; Donald Hankinson; Séan Alonzo Harris; Stew Henderson; Martha Henry; Alison “Wooly” Hildreth; Susan Hodara; Emma Hollander; Henry Hollander; Tanja Hollander; Toby Hollander.

PAGE 2 - Last names I-Z: Jillian Impastato; Peggy Jenkins; Susan Johnston; Siri Kaur, Stacey King; James Laurila; Justin Levesque; Sarah Mahoney; Richard Mann; Denise Markonish; Melissa Marsella; Jan Marston; Johanna Moore; Lisa Nelson + Chris Johnson; Barry O’Meara; Joy Passanante; j.e. paterak; Randy Potts; Leslie Rainer, Juli Raja; Tracie Reed; Wendy Richmond; Gillian Schair; Gloria D. Sclar, Neil Shea, Lynne Shulman; Aldona Shumway; Jessica Skwire Routhier; Sandra Ste. George; Kio Stark; Cathy Stewart; Brooke Stoker; Sally Struever; Emily Sunderman; Scott Toney; Susan Trask; Susan Wiggin.

PAGES 3 -6 - Freshman Seminar students from University at Albany,Albany, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Teen Curatorial Study Hall; The Telling Room Teen Summer Camp, Portland, ME + Oak Hill High School, Wales, ME; New England Arab American Organization, Westbrook, ME

House Portrait: Keliy Anderson-Staley IN MEMORIAM: Zia Sunta; Ray Hilliard; Kanishka Raja; Ken Toner.

I welcome new participants, there is no fee to participate. More information here.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

PAGE two-Last names i-z

Jillian Impastato, 23, Museum educator/art administrator, Waterville, ME

I just moved to Maine a few months ago, so a lot of the experience was going through the belongings I had just recently packed and unpacked to choose the ones that felt particularly resonant. Then, I got to go back to my childhood home for Thanksgiving and choose more items. It was really neat to realize all of the random connections these items have to Maine, even from before I lived here. Although most of these items are from my last five years, it makes me marvel at all of the stuff I have accumulated. I also found some throughlines between the items that I was not expecting (like collecting, gender euphoria, dinosaurs).

I found myself sitting in the discomfort of the incomplete. I ponder if I am over representing some parts of my life over others. I kick myself for not remembering more of the intricate details of the items that mean so much to me (before falling into the familiar spiral of “is this a normal amount of forgetting?”). 

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Peggy Jenkins, 61, Lawyer and director of a community based org that helps rural kids with college access, Moscow, ID

The experience choosing the items was really lovely. It's the first time I've looked at things for a while and I've been meaning to do it.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Susan Johnston, Retired, 75, Cape Elizabeth, ME

Choosing the items was really interesting. My first thought was “What the hell is ephemera?” But as I looked around my house I found things tucked in the most unlikely places. My night table, my desk drawer, even kitchen drawers held little bits and scraps from over the years. When I looked at the scans I was shocked. They were all so beautiful. I saw all the things in a completely different way. I was definitely nervous. After all, they are very personal. It’s about on a par of sitting for a portrait. It’s being seen through someone else’s eyes. But Tanja you are so non-judgmental. Thank you for this experience. I would recommend doing this, partly to relive the experiences connected to the items.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Carolyn Joseph, Materials Engineer, 29, Mobile, AL

I chose my items when I was home in Maine visiting my parents for Christmas 2021. For this reason, there are few recent items - mostly things from my childhood through early college years. The process of choosing made me feel nostalgic for the people and places of my youth. I also felt somewhat stressed thinking about all the stuff I've collected over the years, knowing that I will need to pack up or get rid of these and the many other things that are still in my childhood bedroom. The exercise prompts you to think about what items have meaning to you and why.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Siri Kaur, Artist, 44, Los Angeles, CA

Choosing was quite emotional! Each of the items I sent Tanja are treasured by me as a type of totem object imbued with the power to recall memories. Some are more like transitional objects that soothe, akin to the way stuffed animals help small children fall securely asleep. Really this is just a little pile of junk but to me each object has deep and profound significance. You’d be surprised what you can learn about yourself by choosing 16 items or objects out of your physical hoard. This exercise provides a deep sort of self-reflection that we don’t often allow ourselves in this frantic world.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Stacey King, AI Ethicist, Age 49, Seattle, WA

There were items I knew right away I would include in some way. These are items that had a lot of meaning to me when I acquired them, are items that I always am aware of where they are, and were all given to me or represent someone incredibly important to me. These items have followed me to each of the places I have lived – if I had them at the time – and are sometimes even things I keep in my wallet all the time. The other items were very, very hard to select. I had to dig through my house to find items that I felt strongly about or I really see as a representation of me in some way.

A couple of things hit me during this process. First, I am not really sentimental when it comes to items that are “dear.” I had to think about this and even crawled through my dictionary and a couple of different meanings for sentimental to check this thought.

Sentimental: of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. (Oxford Dictionary)

The items I knew straight off the bat that I would include don’t really evoke those emotions in me, with one exception. Rather these items were more about the importance that was given to the object by a person that is important to me, and the reflection in the item of that connection. It gives the item a soul of some sort. It stands out among other things.

I looked for other items that I felt had a soul and found them, but in going through boxes I found lots and lots of things that had been given to me that I felt a duty to keep as opposed to a desire to keep, which is the second thing that hit me. These were items that I do not use, like, or would ever get for myself, but someone important to me gave them to me. A LOT of jewelry fell in to this category, but also clothing, heirlooms, toys, letters, etc. I realized that I was keeping these items not because they had any meaning to me, but because they had meaning to someone else (at the time, at least), and I didn’t want to hurt their feelings. So I have kept all this stuff – and also hauled it around – out of duty.  Which is kind of weird when you think about it.

So – what was my experience? It gave me a chance to reflect on things that are just things and things that have a “soul” – that speak to me in some way. And those are the things I included.

Also – I need to take trips to some charity shops. I have a bunch of things others may find a soul in, and so it doesn’t make sense the I hold on to them out of a sense of duty.

It was a very interesting process and was much more insightful than I thought it would be. Very self-reflective. The process also made me really think about the things we keep around us and what they say about self, relationships, and value.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Jefta Kishosha, Project Manager, Africa Schoolhouse, Igoma, Tanzania

I was very glad to find and think about these objects. The process helped me to consider things that I value. I appreciate the Ephemera project—this is a very unique project. People have things they keep that are important, but no one knows what their value is to them. They have no one to tell their stories to, but they are important. If they die, the things can be thrown away and no one will know their importance. This is a valuable process. You should keep doing this work.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

James Laurila, Director of Water Operations for the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission, 56, Florence, MA

I initially had a list of over 16 items and had to reduce it.  I reduced the number to 16 by picking items that reflect something about me that would help create a little bit of a portrait for those who never met me.

Choosing the items and considering them was like going back in time.  A lot of memories were triggered by first considering an item to include, finding the item, and then describing it.  It was a nice experience to go through.  In some ways you can see what aspects of life are important to me, because these are the pieces of ephemera that are still in my possession. I had other ideas of items to include but when i went looking for them realized that I had tossed them out at some point.  I guess the other ones didn't make the cut for keeping in the past.  After pulling the items together I could see family, school/career accomplishments, love for art and music, poetry, sports, as consistent themes for ephemera that I have kept.  It's somewhat therapeutic to go through this process, considering various stages of life through these items.

You save ephemera for specific personal reasons and never expect someone to ask you to compile them and explain them.  I was very excited to be asked to do this and to share this information.

A concluding haiku:

if you look

you can see my life

ephemera

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Justin Levesque, Artist, 33, Portland, ME

Objects, ephemera, and saved mementos are tucked away all around the house. Shelves here. Little boxes there. In plain sight but habitually unobserved. Revisiting and relooking at them all was an exercise in remembering so many things I've forgotten. A relief from all the quarantine worrying. Especially opening Mémère's Box after ignoring it for years. It was wonderful to see these objects preserved in a way that was interpreted by anyone else but me. But especially because they now exist in conversation to your work about objects and materials. 

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Sarah Mahoney, Writer, 59, Arrowsic, ME

I think I must have saved each of these because they remind me of a time in my life when I played a very specific role. Like caring for my mom—the bracelet was something she began to wear when her Alzheimer’s disease was quite advanced. (Early on, she refused to acknowledge it.) The eagle pin was given to me when my husband deployed to Iraq. The soap dish with the London tube map is the only relic from the year I lived in England. And I’m trying to get my first mystery published–of the 54 agents I sent it to, only one answered me with a print rejection, so I saved it. So these are all parts of myself–cub reporter, mom, dog owner, military spouse, aspiring novelist, karate student, traveler.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Richard Mann, Professor, Columbia University and Zuckerman Institute, 63, New York, NY

“Is it possible to make a portrait with objects instead of a camera?” Tanja’s question resonated with me for several reasons. For one, we’ve been starting to get rid of our “stuff” in preparation of possibly downsizing our home, so I’d been sifting through things, and was curious about what I decided to keep. Many of the objects made me feel nostalgic for our younger kids, my mom, beaches, traveling, and building things. For a variety of reasons, many of these things don’t happen as much these days, especially this past year. But it also resonated because people in affluent countries tend to collect objects and it made intuitive sense that one can get an image or an outline of a person based on these objects. I’ve often had these thoughts when going to estate or big yard sales, trying to paint a picture of the people who owned these objects. Doing this on a grand scale, as Tanja’s vision, is a very cool idea.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Denise Markonish, Senior Curator and Director of Exhibitions at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA

When Tanja first asked me to send her ephemera I began by looking for random objects around my house that I thought I was giving to Tanja forever. I picked some rocks and bits of string, etc. and packaged them up. This was mid-pandemic so I wasn’t going out very much. Then when Tanja came to visit me in North Adams, MA some months later, we wandered around my house together and picked things that were more sentimental and meaningful. I used this second chance to create a self-portrait through some of the things I keep near at home and at work. It’s really amazing to revisit these items and recollect the moment that they landed in my hands. This project gives you permission to understand yourself with a different language, and see a portrait of you that doesn’t need your face. I am curious to see if others will recognize me in these objects.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Melissa Marsella, Fashion Designer, Age 26, Momentarily quarantining in Tucson AZ

It’s oddly like stepping into a time machine. You find things about yourself that you didn’t expect to or didn’t remember. It’s an interesting way to paint a portrait about someone, without using their own physical appearance. I found it really interesting because you, the chooser of the 16 items have the power to choose the objects and describe what they mean to you, but since the project is assigned by Tanja, it’s a collaborative portrait of yourself that I don’t think has ever been quite done in this way before. You have the power over your “image” but at the same time you don’t because the artist has given you a project that makes you find surprising things about yourself, and jogs your memory in ways that you really aren’t able to control. It was a completely unexpected experience!

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Jan Marston, Retired Teacher, 85, Auburn, ME

When the ephemera idea was first suggested to me my first reaction was “I'm much too private a person to do that.”  I may be, but here I am.  Choosing the items was a real look inward at myself and my life in a way that I've never done before, nor has anyone done it for me.  It seemed like a big challenge once I thought of it as putting my life out there in objects. This or that?  Have I left out something important?  Is this a better choice, or that?  The choosing was a stroll through my life at my own pace.  Illuminating as well as challenging.  I'd recommend it to anyone for the oh mys and a has. 

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Johanna Moore, frame maker / artist, 56 going on 27, Farmingdale, ME

It was a challenge choosing items to create this portrait. Unlike traditional portraits, likenesses, these ephemeral objects paint an underlying one. My favorite portrait in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art is of Sarah Bowdoin, painted by Louis Leopold Boilly. Described as wistful, she is posed with an Empire gown with ruffles of fabric up to her chin. When I first looked at the painting, I saw her as weak and maybe even sick. I keep returning the museum and each time I see her differently. As I learn more about who she was, through writings, I no longer see her weak or possibly sick; I see a woman ahead of her time, forward thinking, caring for the poor and underserved, caring for other women. Through the ephemera I have seen provided by others I have learned about both strangers and friends and I see this project as a brilliant way to depict both a human and a human experience, creating a whole portrait out of visual elements.

I loved how the scanner hit the objects and the shadows it created. I had selected the ephemera thinking more about aspects of myself and, once seeing them presented together, I was pleased with what I chose.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Lisa Nelson, 46, Meeting Planner/Illustrator + Chris Johnson, 46, Software Engineer, Ayer, MA

We wanted to find the objects that spoke about our shared history together as well as our history before we meet each other and what was important to each of us. Some items represent our romance, love of travel, unique experiences, or beloved family members. We scoured the house for items to include that really represented us and what we loved. How do you find the items that are valuable to you but not anyone else? While it’s a strange experience finding the objects that truly represent you, it’s an important thing to do. There is something soothing and poetic about seeing the ephemera that represents your life.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Barry O’Meara, Bartender/Construction Itinerant, 50, Brooklyn, NY

I had lots of good memories and smiles finding the ephemera. How far I’ve come! I’m very proud of showing off my treasures. I wasn’t nervous sending them, the memories are more important than the objects, and now I have the images.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Joy Passanante, Writer/editor/retired professor, 75, Moscow, Idaho

When I was invited to contribute to Tanja's ephemera project, I immediately thought, “YES. This project is for me!” I had already collected ephemera in my earliest adult years when I was moving from the American Midwest to the East and then west to Idaho, where I’ve changed houses five times. I brought these once- and-future treasures—these fleeting moments of childhood and a scattering of later years—with me everywhere. They have lined (or “cluttered,” as my husband might say) my dressers, my desks, my shelves, my drawers in various rooms, and even boxes in my basements. I once explored, briefly, in a narrative essay I wrote, how much and why I love little things, wondering, as a half-serious aside, whether it was because I was little, too (4’ 9”, if that). Or just stuck on nostalgia, reluctant in my early adult years to let go of or mourn those memories. And yet, I put off assembling this particular ephemera until the end of 2022.

I reflect now: Does that mean that I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume I have haphazardly collected from the generous accumulation of my life’s years? Or possibly that I am simply reluctant to choose one of my precious gems of memory over the other? But a more complex explanation may be that as a lifelong lover of literary representation and symbolism, of course I’d conclude that there is no better way to represent/symbolize one’s life than through little possessions that conjure up transformative moments and layers of meaning.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

j.e. paterak, Artist/Jeweler, 57, Portland, ME

This was a great exercise in seeing what we value, and however complete it feels, it is still a small snapshot of my life’s residue. I definitely recommend participating in this project to others. While I trust you 100% with my precious objects there are always some nerves “letting go” of anything, leaving behind my things generally makes me anxious. I suppose this outs me as a materialist. As a maker, I am also a collector. I started with early collections of souvenir spoons, buttons, and bumper stickers which I still have yet did not include here. I also have many re-occurring anxious dreams of having to pack quickly for a trip, or moving out and I can never fit everything in my suitcase…. Thereby you will see I had difficulty selecting just exactly 16 objects.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Randy Potts, Journalist, 45, Tulsa, OK

It is so strange to see these objects arranged and photographed because - somehow! - how!?! - I didn't catch the redundancies. If you count top to bottom, left to right, items 1, 3, 7, and 16 are all from a mission trip I went on to Russia when I was 17. I knew it shaped me, but wow. So crazy I have *three* watches in there! 

I have  . . . a lot of ephemera. Each item is important to me. I'm a Cancer. For this, I just chose things that jumped out. I didn't spend much time - if they leaped out at me, they were in. 

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Leslie Rainer, Wall Painting Conservator, 60, Venice, CA

The items I chose for this project are some of my favorite pieces of ephemera for all kinds of reasons.  Some items commemorate an event. Some are purely for their graphics. Most hold  memories of times, places, and  people in my life that I might otherwise forget. I have a problem with memory. I remember very little of my past. I find that I remember moments, events, and experiences through the objects associated with them. I think I may keep ephemera and objects for this very reason - to hold onto memories that I otherwise cannot seem to keep. I surround myself with ephemera for all of these reasons.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Juli Raja, Illustrator/ Designer, 55, New York, New York

I spent some time trying to decide what I would choose for my contribution to the Ephemera Project.

As we know, ephemera can be an item as simple as a ticket stub for a concert or a box of matches from a bar. In my case, I focused on gifts from loved ones. An object that was presented to me with thought and care, that evokes a memory of that time and what that person means to me or even what I mean or meant to them. These are items that I will never part with. They may lay in a drawer for years or sit on a shelf and gather dust but, I know when I picked them out and sent them to Tanja, they were evidence that I have been loved.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Tracie Reed, Architect, 40, Portland, ME

Choosing items proved time consuming. I have a habit of keeping small items like ticket stubs and name tags from events almost without thinking. The significance of items kept has changed over the years as people I loved flow out of my life. These happy memories remain, regardless and still bring a smile to my face. Sifting through photographs and other ephemera I hear my grandmother’s laugh, taste tart gum, feel the rush of excitement I felt on a trip - nostalgia in the palm of my hand. Sifting through these memories; laughing and crying the moments became hours. I was grateful to pause and reflect on where I have been and who these experiences have shaped me into being.

Looking at the scanned images my chest becomes tight, my throat constricts and the corners of eyes fill with tears. All the feelings of longing, happiness, reflection, of being – experienced at once. It is overwhelming and takes my breathe away.

Sifting through one’s ephemera collections is something I would highly recommend. It’s why I keep these seemingly valueless items. They are so filled with memories and emotions. It is a pleasure to enter the realm of these experiences again if only for a minute, or hour.

Having seen other items folks had sent in I was a little nervous that my ephemera wasn’t as ‘cool’ or ‘meaningful’ as others. However, it’s my ephemera and my memories so what someone else thinks of them is irrelevant. And yet, I am human and self-conscious even if I push such feelings aside.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Wendy Richmond, Visual Artist/Writer, 67, Brooklyn, NY and Cambridge, MA

It was a difficult and eye-opening exercise. I had to get over being self-conscious about what I chose; after all, these are representations of my life, and while they say a lot about me, the CHOICE of which to send you says even more. What was private becomes public, or at least out of my control. Why are these the things that I have chosen to represent me?  

What will these choices mean when I see them at a later time in my life, or in a different state of the world? Your work will provide a mirror.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Gillian Schair, mom and founder of the Ladies Adventure Club, 47, Portland, ME

It was lovely and a nice moment to reflect on the items I carry with me. I don’t often take the time to walk the house, reflect on what I’ve chosen to keep over the years, and why certain items resonate for me. It is a little revealing but I trust that those viewing it will understand the vulnerable nature of the exercise.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Gloria D. Sclar, Public Health Researcher, 29, Portland, ME

 I initially felt hesitant to open my two memory boxes with saved items. I wasn’t nervous or anxious really, I just knew it meant going back in time and living through memories. I don’t always like doing that because sometimes you end up really sitting in that space for a while and it can kind of let the day slip by, as your mind stays stuck in these other places and moments in time. I think I’m the kind of person who likes to live in the here and now, and so looking at meaningful objects saved from the past can feel burdensome to me in a weird way. But last Saturday for whatever reason I felt really good and immediately wanted to do it. I pulled the two boxes out and spent probably just 1.5 hours or so sifting through the items. I texted photos of some things to family members and friends to remind them of a certain memory, which was actually fun to do. I also ended up reconnecting with an old college buddy. And in the end, I felt very satisfied because I had this solid and complete set of items in front of me that chronicled the past 20 years of my life: it felt good. It was a great opportunity to sit back and reflect on years lived. I don’t ever really do that.

 (Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Neil Shea, Writer, 46, Brooklyn, NY

Choosing was fun for the most part. It gets shoved into drawers and notebooks and vanishes for long while, sometimes many years. Going back through it is personal archeology, and I enjoyed the memories that resurfaced.

It was fascinating to see these things separated from their usual contexts. They looked almost like someone else’s possessions, and I guess in a way they are—they belong to other versions of me. At the same time, there’s a strange tension between the object alone, spotlighted and made pretty, and the object as I remember it. Like this chunk of rock from Ellesmere Island: it looks amazing in this portrait, otherworldly. It’s got a seriousness that suggests a story I don’t know at all. The rock is a beautiful stranger. Then I think of the rock as it is in my home, where it sits on my kitchen windowsill. My 4-year-old calls it Grumpy Rock and while he eats breakfast in the morning we pretend that it farts at him.

 It was a very cool journey into memory. There were some objects that I did not include, ones that brought up bad or uncomfortable memories, but even engaging with those sort of haunted objects again was worthwhile. You see how your relationship to the past has changed; the stuff speaks to you differently. In some cases you realize you’ve forgotten what you were thinking or feeling when a particular object came into your possession, and what does that tell you? This project gave me permission to sit with pieces of the past, and I think most people would find something valuable in that. It’s not something that happens very often.

 There were a couple of things I didn’t want to lose, and a couple of items that I felt silly or ridiculous in sharing. I think it would have been different if I had not curated these things myself—if someone had just gone through my stuff on their own, choosing objects, assembling their own story of me. In the end I was glad to be asked to participate. It was graceful, in a way, as when someone extends you the courtesy of truly listening.

Lynne Shulman, Wood Sculptor and Retired Art Educator, 67, Falmouth, ME

The objects I have chosen for this portrait are a window into my world, past, present and future. 

When the March lockdown kept my husband Harvey and I mostly at home, we decided to tackle our massive collection of paperwork and accumulated stuff.  We plowed through it, making multiple trips to the dump, the shredder and Goodwill. Although I thought we had made great progress, when faced with this project, I realized there were so many great and random objects that had survived the clean out. As a sentimentalist, an art and nature lover, a traveler and a lifelong collector of the obscure, I just shook my head and picked away.

 I believe I found the balance I was looking for in these 16 objects. They speak to a contented life, that began in Brooklyn 67 years ago and has continued in the beautiful state of Maine for the past 42 years.  It is a life filled with love, family, friends, art, travel, beauty, happiness, and hope for the future.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Aldona Shumway, ELL and French Teacher, currently working at I'm Your Neighbor Books, 56, Freeport, Maine

I would encourage anybody who is curious to participate! Holding old, long-forgotten objects allowed me to revisit my past self at various stages of life. Finding surprises amongst the clutter brought surprise, joy, sadness (not too much) and memories of people that are not part of my life today. It’s an experience very different from handling an acknowledged precious heirloom such a wedding ring. What is important to you and why? What is worth keeping? Why is it easy to let go of some things and not others?

This collection of sixteen photographs does a pretty good job of capturing my life in space and time. I’m grateful for having the opportunity. Thank you, Tanja, for inviting me!

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Jessica Skwire Routhier, Arts writer/editor and former museum director/curator, 49, South Portland, ME

Choosing the objects was a mostly pleasant challenge. I don’t really have that much random stuff lying around, since I’m a regular purger of things I don’t need anymore (though I do enjoy some intentional clutter). I knew I had some caches of keepsakes, but most of those felt too purposeful to qualify as “ephemera.” Instead, I wanted to choose things that I either didn’t know I had or that I’d forgotten I’d kept, but that I could still tell a story about. In the end, not all of the things I chose fall into that category, but most of them do.

The biggest challenge, in this pandemic era, was finding moments when I had the house more or less to myself to do my looking and writing. I just didn’t want to have to explain it to anyone I live with, and I didn’t want any input from them. I know the project will be public, and I’m fine with that, but I wanted to keep the actual choosing and writing totally to myself.

I think it’s an exciting opportunity to be part of an art project, particularly one with an online component that has the potential to reach a wide audience. Most people will never be in a financial position to be serious arts patrons, so this is a different way to support the production and distribution of art. I also found it to be a cathartic process and a good writing exercise.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Sandra Ste. George, Artist/musician/educator, 74, Portland, ME

It took some digging to find the pieces I wanted to say something about my life...the mementos of those times or places that changed, exhilarated and helped define who I am and what has been important to me. The protagonist in Amor Towles book,  ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ said, “Life has been generous to me in its variety.”  I feel the same and wanted my ephemera choices to show that.

At 74, I had already begun picking through my ‘stuff’ to downsize and let go of those things that take up so much room in my studio.  This exercise helped me to really look at those pieces carefully and I love that there will some sort of record of my life.

(Click on images to read descriptions. On mobile tap dot, bottom right corner of screen.)

Kio Stark, Writer, 50, Brooklyn, NY

I love having these things preserved, made into art, so beautifully. The process of choosing was deeply meditative, thinking about what it is to value something, about the stories that stick to objects and make them mean things, realizing that the objects were proxies for memory and experience rather than being worth anything you could insure in the mail. They are precious in the sense of irreplaceable. They are irreplaceable because they hold meaning.

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Cathy Stewart, Vice President for National Development, Independent Voting, 62, Bronx, NY

I think this is an adventure and a treasure hunt. Whether one thinks of oneself as a saver of ephemera or not, there are a lot of interesting items to be rediscovered or shared anew. This was a great invitation to take a look around at the things I have collected and saved.  I built a bag full of various items and kept adding to it as we traveled between our homes in the Bronx and Shushan in upstate NY.  I looked in drawers, and purses, and my boxes of saved mail, on shelves, etc.  Then I spread everything out and started to eliminate... The project also intersected a moment where we are planning to move upstate in May, giving up our apartment in the Bronx. So, it also helped me think about what to keep and what I might be able to let go of.  I was a little, mostly concerned that our beloved USPS would loose the package coming or going. I definitely made my selections eliminating some items that I did not want to risk never making their way back home.

I think of this as a mail art project, of collaborating and using the postal service to make a piece of art together with many others!

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Brooke Stoker, dance artist/usher/artist assistant, 26, South Windsor, CT/Manhattan, NY

On a whim one night I tore through my nightstand drawer, which serves as a keeper of both precious objects and junk. Immediately I knew I wanted to send my Joseph tape and the Sheila pin. Then I went through every part of my room, section by section. Four walls, 3 bookshelves, desk, a closet. Yes, no, maybe so. I started a bigger pile of possibilities which began to collect its own dust as I procrastinated on the rest of the house. Upstairs, downstairs, furnace room closet, garage. Where is the sparkly cyc? Oh, phew - there it is. In a plastic bag behind the stack of dance recital tapes. Check, check, check, check, finally. An even bigger pile in a long rectangular box. More definites: Affirmations, the painting, the sketch, the hat. I show Mom my bag of dance recital costume accessories and both our guts say “Mamma Mia!”. The Radio City bracelets feel more loaded than the Broadway Dance Center pink cards. I want something with smell. Is it grosser to send used socks or shoes? The last item chosen is the compact mirror.

It helped me to have restrictions: 8x10 inches or less (I carried a ruler around with me). I made a rule for myself that I would leave the shoe boxes of thousands of snapshots alone, otherwise I would overwhelm myself. That is another project. It helped me to think of this being just as much a portrait of me at 26 as a picture of my face would signify a portrait of me at 26. The task of choosing ephemera could be fluid throughout our lives and this is me choosing ephemera at the beginning of my 26th year.

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Sally Struever, 41, Portland, ME

I love collecting work and objects from friends and the artists in my community. Assembling these objects had me looking for souvenirs from the very different phases of my life. I’ve been lucky enough to know many talented people and enjoy having small bits from their creative process around to inspire me.

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Emily Sunderman, 51, Violinist, Middlebury, VT

The experience of choosing items was fun and peaceful. At first I didn’t want to include family ephemera, but then enjoyed the process of grieving and remembering and evolving my memories of my parents and grandparents.

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Scott Toney, Member Services/ Customer Care for Health Insurance Company, 59, Chelmsford, MA

What a great means of introspection!  Many items were easily identified for inclusion.  Others became elevated with some time to consider them. In the end, what I choose not include even made me take a look at things differently. So many items that come from so long ago.  Where are those from more recent years?? I liked that many of the items are associated with people from my life. Really special to look back on all of this.

Being able to include some information about the pieces made me less nervous about sending. In the end, it was a somewhat centering experience.

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Susan Trask, Retired teacher, passionate singer, grandmother, word puzzler, and needleworker, 74, Auburn, ME

Choosing was challenging! I have so many treasures given to me by so many special people, a fact that has left me extraordinarily grateful. The project has given me an opportunity to reflect on people and events of my life that have made me who I am. It’s very moving to me to realize that my special objects can also be seen as works of art.

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Susan Wiggin, Social Worker, 50, Portland, ME

It was a little bit hard gathering things...at first I didn't think there was anything to share. Now that I have gathered everything it feels incredibly vulnerable sharing so many of my memories & things that I love that are sacred to me. I love seeing and often touching these things every day...with the exception of the Radio City Program, I see and often touch these things daily. A magnet is almost always something I pick up when I go someplace I treasure in some way... sometimes it’s been because  it’s all I could afford at the time... when traveling w/ my kids or taking them to something special I always felt that whatever the trip or the experience was a more important priority to make sure we did, over staying someplace fancy, or getting expensive trinkets...plus... I love them & what they represent...

I would recommend that someone else do this because I believe so much in you and your process of creating art, democratizing art and how beautifully you capture images. It's an interesting exercise to think about the things we keep, hold, have nearby every day. I wasn’t nervous about sending anything to you. You take care of everything with dignity and respect. 

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