Female ancestor's diary inspires art show

Janet Fry with a painting based on her great-great-grandmother's writings.

Janet Fry's solo art show currently is at the Storage Space Gallery, 121 E. 34th St., Indianapolis, IN 46205. The gallery features pop-up art shows on the third Friday of every month. There also will be a closing show for Fry's exhibit on Saturday, Nov. 8, from noon to 4 p.m.

In 1875, a 38-year-old woman named Caroline Currey Kelso kept a diary for one year. The diary turned 150 years old in 2025. 

In her diary, Caroline writes about feelings of loneliness on the Illinois prairie, with a husband who was frequently absent and sometimes drunk, and her 10 boisterous children, including the baby born that October. She writes about almost starving and almost freezing at times.

She describes the drudgery of daily life but also the small joys: a pretty day; the garden full of beets and beans; the company of visitors; a quilt she was stitching by hand. She died of unknown causes just five years later, in 1880.

Caroline was my great-great-grandmother. The diary was passed down through five generations of my matrilineal line, making me the fifth female descendent to serve as keeper of her words.

In my new art show, the1875 Diary Project, I take artistic inspiration from the actual words written 150 years ago. I’m having a solo art show — my first — at Storage Space Gallery on Oct. 17. The show is a mix of ceramic sculpture, painting and works on paper. Caroline’s quilt that she was working on in 1875, that she mentions in the diary several times, will also be on display.

Because it’s so rare for a woman’s diary to even exist after 150 years, I’m exhibiting archival inkjet photos of 12 diary pages, one for each month. These beautiful prints

were made by Aurora Photo Center from high resolution scans of the entire diary. The scanning was accomplished with help from the Indiana University at Indianapolis Library.

I’ve also created an audio component for the show. Twelve female artist-friends were asked to record themselves reading one month from the diary for a collaborative audio artwork. These readings are available at the “listening station” — a reupholstered Victorian chair via headphones — or by scanning a QR code for listening on your cell phone.

If you haven’t been to Storage Space Gallery in the historic Meridian Park neighborhood yet, you’re in for a treat. Two very warm and friendly artists, Brent Lehker and Michelle McGuire, have been operating this venue next to their home for about six years now.

Parking is on both sides of 34th Street and there’s a church parking lot across from the gallery that's available.

Janet Fry is a former page designer for The Indianapolis Star. She has worked as an artist since retirement.

#ArtShow #StorageSpaceGallery #Diary #AuroraPhotoCenter