Ausbourne G. + Twitter and Tumblr
I have been uploading more cases to the willardsuitcases.com site. This is a photograph from Ausbourne G’s possessions. He brought a good collection of tools with him to Willard in a nice wooden box. / I am making good progress on getting all the cases online, and will continue to upload more as time allows.
I have set up a Twitter account for those of you who would like updates on a more regular basis. Check it out at @willardsuitcase (no s). And I have also set up a Tumblr site which I have linked to this wordpress site. willardsuitcases.tumblr.com This is the first post where I have linked to both, so let’s hope it all works. Any feedback is appreciated.
Wing
There is a group (collective noun?….any help here?) of bobcats that live next to my brother’s house here in South Carolina. As I was out for my morning walk I saw this wing lying next to the road. I looked around and it seemed to be all that was left of the bird, which appears to me to have been a seagull. / Even though we are surrounded by nature all the time and so close to it in many ways, it is unusual to be so close to the cycle of predators and prey. It made me feel connected in a way that doesn’t often happen.
Willard Suitcases / Agnes J
Earlier today I uploaded Agnes J’s case to the willardsuitcases.com site. (Go to “The Cases” and click the link on her name.) She is important for many reasons, not the least of which is that her satchel contained a wealth of correspondence that revealed so much about her life. Hers was the first case that I shot with so much personal information.
There is a line in the letter below that explains so much about her being sent to Willard.
“But don’t come back to the Y.W. and threaten to kill that girl again–that’s what put you where you are now.” Chilling and so sad.
She started this letter to President Hover [sic] while she was a patient at Warren State Hospital which is very near to where I grew up.
So please check out her two cases on the suitcases site. And I’d like to welcome all the new readers to this site. Something was published somewhere on the net that linked to my project, and I have been getting lots of interesting emails from people in the past few days. If you want to see all of my wordpress posts about the project, just click here, and welcome.
Beach Again
We are back on the beach for a bit. It has been quite cold here in South Carolina until today. The ocean was really roiled up this afternoon, and the tide was just ebbing from its high point. There were lots of really beautiful small shells at the tide line.
The biggest of these guys is about an inch across.
I especially like the bottom one here.
Hand Dryer / Sumpter County, SC
Cris and I are back in South Carolina for a quick visit. On the way we stopped at a rest area on the 95 and as I was drying my hands, the dryer did something I have never seen before. Must have something to do with germs and ultraviolet light. I still had to wipe my hands on my trousers though.
Willard Suitcase / Gordon K. + Cemetery News
Gordon K was admitted to Willard in September of 1962. The inner lining of his small grip was different than most we have seen. More like flannel than anything else.
This morning Cris was reading the news on her computer and forwarded this story to me. I couldn’t help but think about the Willard cemetery, and the work that Colleen Spellecy is doing at the Willard Cemetery Memorial Project and that Lin Stuhler is doing at her Inmates of Willard site. After watching the piece, I was curious about how the group was able to get names from the state.
Willard Suitcase / Elizabeth M
At times I struggle a bit with most of the long-term projects on which I spend a great deal of time and energy. I realize that it is a normal part of the process, and having questions about what I am trying to do actually gives me a chance to think and, I hope, eventually get some answers.
During the first phase of this work, most of the cases that I was shooting were quite full of items that folks brought with them to Willard. Craig Williams rightly thought that since my time was limited, I should concentrate on the most “interesting” cases. Once I became committed to a complete documentation of all of the roughly 430 suitcases, I realized that most of the ones that I hadn’t shot were empty. But empty is a relative term here. In addition to the paper tags that identify the owner of each case, there is a beauty in the suitcase itself, and in the fabric lining, and in the straps designed to hold people’s clothing secure during transit. Occasionally there will be some other random object; a hair pin, a button, a luggage tag, a newspaper clipping.
On Monday I was beginning to think that my interest in these empty cases was somewhat misplaced. The project had gotten so much attention early on, and I understand that it was due primarily to what the cases contain, and what those contents say about the individuals that own them. While shooting, I was feeling that fewer people would be interested in the empty ones, and I was bothered by that. I thought about it a lot during my drive home from Rotterdam, and I began to remember what I always talk about when speaking about art and creativity. Ultimately, the only reason to create art is to please the person who is creating it. If others are affected by it, that is a huge bonus. All I know right now is that I look at the photographs I took of this case and I see a life. I see that her name was Elizabeth and that she came to Willard on 30 November, 1951. I see that she had a beautiful leather suitcase, and that someone in her family had the name Mary. And I am really moved by this and hope to be able to move others when they look at these pictures.
So I am really jazzed about continuing. The video for the next Kickstarter appeal is done and I have to decide when to get it up and running. Right now I am thinking that early to mid January is the time, and I will certainly post about it here. In the meantime, thank you all for following the project. I really appreciate the comments and emails that come my way.
Danger / Invisible Laser Beam
I really liked this case when I shot it on Wednesday. It belonged to Mabel Y. The pattern on it is actual weave as opposed to a fake print pattern made to look like weave. It, like many of the suitcases, has no means to support the top when opened, so Peg and I are constantly coming up with some way to hold it upright for the photograph.
Here is one of our usual tricks. My parents gave me this thermos for my birthday at least 30 years ago. I always make a pot of milky tea for the drive over to Rotterdam, and since the storage facility is very chilly in the Winter months it is great to have something warm during the day. The laser beam sticker comes from my great friend Peter Carroll who seems to pick up things like this on occasion. / You can see Peg in the background working on her computer. She created an amazing database into which we can enter all the pertinent information about each case, its contents, and the owner. She is doing her best keeping me and the project organized, and I am so grateful for her help and support.
Another Suitcase Post
Peg and I had a very productive day yesterday. The inside of Phoebe U’s case was especially beautiful. You can see by the label that she was admitted on 16 September, 1963 and placed in Grand View.
Recently
Sometimes I get a bit frustrated when I don’t post here as soon as I have some interesting (to me) photographs. / We were up in Maine for Thanksgiving at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. They live near to Higgins Beach in Scarborough, ME and on Thursday the ocean was really kickin’. I went for three separate walks to the beach the next day and each one was interesting in its own way. The surf was up (especially by East Coast standards) and at one point there were at least 40 surfers out.
On the morning walk I noticed that tons of sea creatures were washed way up on the beach, including this guy. Very alive and, I hope, happy to be put back into the ocean. Would have made a nice little lunch though.
On our way home on Saturday, I finally stopped to take a shot of this structure on Route 1 in Scarborough. I liked the light, and it is nice to see how helpful the owners are in identifying just what this thing is.
Further (farther?) down Route 1 is Bob’s Clam Hut in Kittery and since Peter was with us it seemed a nice time to stop in for a bite. As usual, amazing fried clams.
Next stop was in Boston for our annual walk around the outside of Fenway Park. So sweet to have the 2013 World Series banner hanging.
And I have always liked this statue, especially Dom DiMaggio’s specs. / We ended the Boston leg of the trip with a stop at the Blue Ribbon. For Peter, this day was a triple play; clams, Fenway, and Blue Ribbon. He was a very happy boy.
And finally, there is this. Image-wise it is kind of an orphan here, but I love the floating cone in the middle. I spotted this on a walk with Pete yesterday afternoon. / I take him to the train in New Haven tomorrow, and as usual, it will be difficult to say goodbye. Cris and I have had so much fun being with him for the past few weeks.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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