This garment is for display only. The body form has no neck or head area (the emptiness of dementia) and is also on rollers so she can “dance”. The piece is designed as a modified ballet costume (perhaps a bit of Swan Lake for a swan song?) comprised of: the artist’s 1984 wedding rehearsal dress; hoop slip reinforced with hula hoops; overskirt made from a bedsheet that was wrapped around her mother’s bridal gown (to preserve it) circa 1958; and the front panel of a real dance costume. The back sequin panel, feather boa trim, costume jewelry, and netting overlay are materials favored by the artist over time.
The front panel poem was written by the artist. Attached are the original sewing tools of the artist’s grandmother (Annabel Romig Cahill) and her husband’s grandmother (Anna Drotloff).
The 58 miniature dresses pay homage to the full-sized wearable and small-scale sculptural Hoard Couture series of garments. Each mini dress represents one to three pieces from the collection by the use of specific materials. For example, the napkin dress represents garments in the Daily Doodle Series. These small pieces are made as memories and more able to be stored once the artist passes away and the full scale series is eventually disposed of.
When fully assembled, this dancer’s dress serves as a retrospective of the artist’s years making Hoard Couture and a lifetime of playing with art materials.

Dance with Dementia

A little girl grows up to make art
She wears it well, they say
Dancing under gallery lights

Accolades
Decades
Pieces of herself left behind, until

An unfinished canvas, an empty hook
A missed deadline
Unsigned

Did anyone notice?
Were there signs?
Decline

The stage grows dark
The theater lies empty
Studio spaces forgotten

A.R.T. entombed in bins
Abandoned
Unavailable

A nice lady gives her some crayons