Diane Savona

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Closet Archaeology, part 5

There are 2 fireplaces in the Hermitage gallery. I filled this one with wooden hangers. The cloth over the window holds various styles of hangers, and the mantelpiece has hatforms. The dressform is positioned to study the vintage dress on the wall. And hanging over the fireplace is one of my favorites, Landscape of a Lost Civilization (51"h x 36"w)

The year before, I had submitted my Fossil Garments  to the  NJ State Council on the Arts Fellowship and won!  And I was told I could ask for the judges comments (always a good idea). One of the judges said that my work looked like 'the landscape of a lost civilization'.

Well, yes, I liked that. I didn't see how my other Fossil Garments fit that description, but let's do that. An aerial landscape, like all the fields you see out the plane window. So I assembled pieces:

And I spent many happy days planting buttons, and clips and pins under different dyed cloths.

One of the dyed pieces had HOME embroidered on it, which seemed fitting, and there's a dark center section with embedded scissors. I think of the dress as a river running through the fields.