A little over a year ago I got an email from my friend and amazing artist, Dudley Zopp, asking if she and her cousin might come to Farm Dover for a short artist-in-residence stay. Dudley lives in Maine; Bibby lives in Ohio. They needed a place to collaborate on a book project. Without a moment's hesitation, I said "yes!" -- for I knew what a delightful guest Dudley was as she has spent time working on her art at Farm Dover ever so often since 2015 -- and I was curious about the project she was cooking up with a long-lost cousin.
They came for a few days in mid-September of 2022 and were, as I knew they would be, easy guests. One stayed out in the cottage; the other upstairs. They would gather in the kitchen for breakfast and then disappear to the back porch where they would shuffle old photographs, small sketches of pea pods and hollyhocks, words and concepts, binding options, and paper samples. From my kitchen window I could tell that some serious -- and rather magical -- brainstorming was going on.
They would take breaks, going off on solitary or companion walks through our trails and meadows, but eventually would make their way back to the porch and continue with their collaborations. At dusk, they would stop for the day, gather up their materials, and have dinner with Ed and me. And then disappear to their respective bedrooms for the night.
Here's all I knew about their project: They shared a grandmother; their fathers were brothers. Dudley and Bibby were both only daughters in families of boys. They were born nine years apart and grew up nine miles apart. When their "Muzzie" died in 1964 in Lexington, KY, the family found a small box on an upper shelf of their grandmother's closet. Written on the box top was "Pieces of String Too Short to Save." The box, and its contents, became a family joke.
The years went by. Dudley and Bibby both moved away from Lexington and contact between the two diminished. Then in 2021, Bibby reached out to Dudley to offer condolences on the loss of Dudley's brother. The two women promised to stay in touch and later that year Bibby and her husband came to Maine to visit. In their conversation, the infamous box was mentioned and Bibby jokingly said that they should write a book about it. Dudley agreed. The concept for a book was born. (Here's where I picture these two women joining pinkies for a pinky swear and then tying a bit of string around their respective fingers so as not to forget to work on it together.)
Nearly a year later...
In yesterday's mail, I received a beautiful copy of their collaboration. It is a limited edition (15), hand-bound, book of vignettes in text and images, written by Bibby Terry; illustrated by Dudley Zopp.
The book is a tribute to their grandmother: Sarah Louise Burton Milward. They acknowledge that she showed them that nothing -- neither a memory nor a piece of string -- is too small to save.
The book is a thing of beauty. The best part is that the cousins, who have worked so hard to commemorate their shared stories and the legacy of their family, have grown closer and have developed a true and flourishing friendship. And that, tugs at my heartstrings.
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You can find out more about Pieces of String Too Short to Save, at Dudley's most recent Substack newsletter.
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