LindaRose Conversations: Wanderings, Meanderings, Musings.

Linda Smith and Rose Camastro-Pritchett met as young women in Quincy, IL. Each went on her way, Linda to San Francisco, and Rose circled the globe. They reconnected years later, by chance, each on her own artistic trajectory. Having found one another again, they didn’t want to let go, and their conversation has continued across the miles and the years. 

In summer 2020, we began the LindaRose Conversations with the intention of wandering, meandering, and musing, responding to one another’s words and visual art. One sends a text, the other responds with an image. Then we switch. We don’t discuss the texts or the images in advance of seeing one another’s work. We limit ourselves to using 6-inch by 6-inch paper. We don’t think of the visuals as illustration of the text, but rather an amplification and extension of the words. Not being together in one location, we see each other’s work only through photos online. We impose no deadlines. Our friend, Na Wang, provides technical assistance. We often reply to one another via email or text.

A bit about us:

Rose Camastro-Pritchett
Rose packs a bag every year to live abroad, to make art, to exhibit, to teach, to write. She has been doing this for over forty years. Sometimes for a month, once for five years.  It’s how she lives: absorbing the culture, learning the language, making friends, living off the economy. Ten years ago, Rose moved to Evanston, IL. She and her husband David live in the upstairs flat of her cousin’s home, two doors away from the house where she grew up.  Some say that she has gone full circle. Rose disagrees. She has received awards, grants and residencies for her work, including a work-in-progress performance for the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Rose continues to exhibit and perform internationally.

BFA, Quincy University; MS Ed, Western Illinois University; MFA, Interdisciplinary Book & Paper Arts, Columbia College Chicago 

Linda Smith
Linda is a dreamy realist, that odd combination of often being gripped with the desire to be elsewhere while being completely capable of meeting deadlines and adhering to the strictures of the Library of Congress classification system. She started making artist books (albeit without that name) as a child, with titles such as “Susy Jones, Pre-Junior Stewardess,” long lost from the Smith Family archives. Speaking of archives, she’s interested in artists who use them in their work, as she works feverishly on a creative family history project of her own. She is interested in story and the stitching together of narratives, and how they fit within an historical context. In much of her work, she is on the lookout for pieces of evidence from which to construct a narrative, be that in writing or visuals. One of her artist books resides in the collections of Reed College, San Diego State University, University of Utah, and Yale University. 

B.A. in English, Western Illinois University; M.S. in Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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“‘Our project’ – what a great headline! I am so looking forward to this experiment, while at the same time being a bit fearful about being up to the task.” Linda to Rose email, Aug. 8, 2020

“I want to play, I want to stretch, I want to engage with you. I want to have fun. I want to see what happens when we jump into the water and swim to the other side. As Mr. Rogers said, ‘Won't you be my playmate?’” Rose to Linda email, Aug. 9, 2020

“I have completed my ‘assignment,’ and am handing it off to you. I hope it inspires some wonderful art. . . . And there you have it – we have begun!” Linda to Rose, email Aug. 31, 2020

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“Linda, this is beautiful. My initial response is that’s where I have always been, in the ‘in-between-places.’ . . . I am going to have to think about this. A lot.” Rose to Linda email, Aug. 31, 2020

“We are live!” Rose to Linda text, Sep. 9, 2020

“I love it! So exciting to have a spot to play. And your piece is wonderful. I see the [William] Tillyer influence. Are the black dots throughout dots or stitches? It does capture in-between spaces. . . . There is an Asian influence to the piece visually. I think we have made a very good start to our conversational wanderings.” Linda to Rose text, Sep. 9, 2020

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“I like what you did and was looking for the woman with the dog who was dodging the spray. Very evocative, her image not necessary. I am enjoying your use of mixed media.” Rose to Linda text Sep 23, 2020

“I was trying to be more evocative than illustrative since I am not good at representational drawing and also did not want an ‘illustration’ of your beautiful words.” Linda to Rose text Sep 20, 2020

“You did the right thing. We agreed not to illustrate. My comment about the woman was to indicate that your piece was so evocative that I was looking for her, not at all that she should be there.” Rose to Linda text Sep 20, 2020

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“I had fun playing around with this for a week or so, which was a good counterpoint to my writing. The piece is layered. The ground is our paper covered with paper from my stash of old dress patterns. The antique map comes next. It was printed on translucent paper, part of my collection of maps used for the ‘tag’ series. The girl and her clothes were drawn on notecards, covered with pattern paper, then photocopied to get the right color - a different tone than the original, better suited for the ground. And then the ubiquitous dots. I am looking forward to your response.” Rose to Linda Oct 11, 2020

“I sat down yesterday and started jotting down ideas for text for your wonderful piece -- and realized that I have a poem from my family history project that would be perfect for my response, with the addition of a final line. And I wondered if this would be acceptable or sort of ‘cheating.’ I am perhaps overthinking this in my still-a-good-Catholic-girl mindset. What do you think? Honest opinion!” Linda to Rose Oct 14, 2020

“If it works, use it!” Rose to Linda Oct 14, 2020

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“I am attaching my latest. I often wish we were exchanging in person (though not through the mail) because my originals always look better than the photos. . . . Here's my new one, done with inks and silk and metal threads. Hope it inspires a wonderful text from you!” Linda to Rose email, Oct 21, 2020

“Your piece is gorgeous and evocative. I am going to have fun with this. The stitching on top makes me think of the white sea gulls and the bottom ones, dried grasses. Yet they look like medical stitches.” Rose to Linda text, Oct. 21, 2020

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“At first read, I am in love. Can't wait to play with word images.” Rose to Linda Nov. 11, 2020

“That is fabulous! Looks like it is all pencil? And a wonderful interpretation of the words.” Linda to Rose text, Dec. 17, 2020

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“Looking online I can get a closer look at your intriguing and engaging piece. I like the penny rubbings, the cutout dates, the text block with the hole punch teasing the maroon textured background to seep through, the abstract square, reminiscent of Elizabeth Murray's paintings, the slip of rectangular white paper with black ink strokes and the sheer delight of the two thin lines at the bottom, one a black streak and the other, the white paper peeking through. Linda, you have raised our bar!” Rose to Linda Jan 9, 2021

“Wow, what a deconstruction! But you did hit on some of what I was trying to do, as well as featuring some amber and black, the colors of your dogs. Thank you.” Linda to Rose Jan 9, 2021

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“AND, your Howardena Pindell homage is just wonderful! It's very map-like to me, and I'm intrigued by the loose holding thread around the entire piece. Ooh, what will it inspire me to write?! Stay tuned.” Linda to Rose Jan 9, 2021

“The poem is a perfect match. My two favorite lines are ‘wavy copper wire does the tethering’ and ‘A world both holey and holy.’ It also reflects how I feel after this week's insurrection at the capital. The floating color swatches make a perfect pairing to my piece.” Rose to Linda Jan. 17, 2021

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“Gorgeous and evocative.  From my post-it note.  ‘Dreaming in Chinese’ - the red ground, black X and scroll-like text. Letter writing - the black horizontal lines across the red ground reminiscent of handwriting, the small square at the top looks like a stamp. Traveling - the black ribbon through the maplike white patch with black lines. Hiding - the back horizontal piece with the white fringe beneath that looks like a pulled down shade. Plowing - the metal pieces, like water buffaloes with plows attached to their bodies steered by farmers plowing through fields outside of Jiujiang.”

‘Dreaming in Chinese’ Traveling, Hiding, Plowing, Recording (writing) This will take me awhile.” Rose to Linda Jan. 29, 2021

“My response to your beautiful piece is online.” Rose to Linda text Feb. 6, 2021

“I love that it is handwritten, invoking the sense of a letter. And that big X shape reminds me of your oxen. Also love that last line. Your time in China (and elsewhere too) has changed you, and that is something that much of your work addresses, even if sometimes obliquely. Very well done! Linda to Rose text Feb. 6, 2021

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“I have read your most recent piece again and again. Multiple images come to mind and I do see an Agnes Martin painting. My response will take a while because I want to digest the text, I want to break it down into pieces.” Rose to Linda Feb. 11, 2021

“I had fun putting it all together. The response to your drive text is up.” Rose to Linda text Feb. 28, 2021

“Ooh, it is lovely. I see a sliver of salmon and I like how you have interspersed your lines of sewing with the pre-stitched ribbon. Also like that one black line so close to another blue line. Evokes humped hills. And it does have an Agnes Martin feel.” Linda to Rose text Feb. 20, 2021

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“A poem! I am surprised and I love it. It says so much succinctly. Hmm, my thinking cap will go on now. Also loved your paper treatment.” Linda to Rose text Mar. 7, 2021

“I want to spend time taking in your image which is as complex as it is beautiful. Currently treading water. I’ll get back to you soon.” Rose to Linda text Mar. 17, 2021

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“We have gone deep with our work, now I am curious about working wide. I'd be interested in looking at a pair that resonates with us and expanding it into an artist book. We are both storytellers. Something to think about.” Rose to Linda Mar. 30, 2021

 After creating ten pairings, we decided to choose one of our texts and move it in a new direction with the goal of producing an artist book, breaking apart the text (occasionally editing it), and creating new visuals. We used the same 6 x 6-inch format and started with no timetable. This did not last long. Artists Book House https://artistsbookhouse.org/collaborations contacted us to share an unpublished collaboration. We created a schedule for our calls and due dates.

Dreaming Words

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In July 2021 we saw one another in person for the first time in 18 months and for the first time since we began this collaboration. From the images above, we developed this online edition into a physical artist book, continuing our wandering, meandering, and musing.

“The beauty of collaborating is learning from each other.” Rose to Linda. “Absolutely.” Linda to Rose.

This book will be part of Finding Common Ground: Sowing the Seeds of Community & Collaboration, San Francisco Center for the Book https://sfcb.org/, November 5 - December 26, 2021.

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Longing

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Our artist book Longing was created for the invitational Be Mine 2022 exhibition at Greenleaf Art Center in Chicago. For this project, we used existing art pieces from our earlier collaboration and wrote new text to accompany the pieces. As before, we did not discuss what we were writing with one another. The two strands of text melded to become one story on the theme of longing. This book will be part of Be Mine 2022, an Invitational Valentines Art Exhibition, at Greenleaf Art Center, Chicago, February 11 - April 22, 2022.

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