I am a compulsive collector. Having just concluded a small survey, I now know that this is true of other women artists as well. These list were made by people who don’t admit to “collecting” as much as they do to "saving" or not throwing anything away.
I asked a number of women to let us in on their secrets. The letter of inquiry was sent—xeroxed copies were made by the women who (in the tradition of the chain stitch xxx letter) reached other women. When the replies came in I realized that people save things that "touch" them rather than things which display the "proper touch".
The survey showed that savers are not comfortable about their hoards and that artists
provide the highest rationale for not throwing anything away; they save so that they
can incorporate their "junk" in to their art. No one can fault a
Underneath all of this collecting there is a strong emotional tie to a specific experience. A physical diary in a sense. A woman's personal history, her humanity, her old postcards, succulents, charms for bracelets, ticket stubs, anything free... life itself has to be saved.
Muriel Castanis is a woman, a wife, a mother and a sculptor, soon to change the order to a woman, a wife, a sculptor and a mother.