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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
First Dover Sunday program welcomes local artist and author, Curt Swarm
New London’s Dover Museum is open to the public every Saturday and Sunday from May through Oct. 1-4 p.m.
Every month of summer season, one Sunday a program of local historical or community interest is presented. Darlene Lutes, Dover’s program director introduced Curt Swarm.
He opened this summer’s presentations with an interesting program explaining his three passions: writing, photography and sculpting. His style of presentation fit a hot Iowa summer afternoon perfectly. He simply visits with his audience as if everyone were sitting in a garden, sipping a cold drink and relaxing.
Curt graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in English and knew from a very young age that he wanted to write. His first serious encounter with his secondary English teacher could have derailed his writing but a knowledgeable, concerned principal brought reason and science.
The principal’s intervention and a sensible teacher affirmed Curt’s own analysis — he really could write well. Writing for newspapers in Colorado and other publishers honed his skill and he now submits his weekly column to over 30 newspapers.
Curt’s photography career came a bit serendipitously. He entered one of his photos in a competition.
The Fort Madison Area Arts Association encouraged his work and he has expanded his artistic efforts.
He presented Dover with a photo he had taken of the Fire Department truck at the Exit 244 overpass outside New London.
He describes himself as a hack photographer but his eye for every day life and us of the technological advances belie this description. He has now moved toward cellphone photos and printing to produce his work.
Photography remains important to him and his wife as they travel. Travel is a bit easier now that they have reached the “Empty Nest” stage of their lives.
As fate would have it, one day Curt was looking at two pieces of “junk” (discarded farm equipment).
They spoke to him saying “We belong together.” That started his career as a sculptor. He is a self-taught welder. As he freely admits, he made every mistake in the book.
His show “ONE MAN’S JUNK” will open in July at the Fort Madison Area Arts building on G Street. The audience listening closely to his words were not sure how nervous to be.
Curt’s love of old rusty farm junk is apparent. It made for a bit of humor as the room in which Curt was presented is filled with the museum’s love of intact, still usable rusty farm antiques!
Curt had his three books available for purchase. The first book “Protected” is a true-life account of his fight with addiction and the path to recovery.
His second book “Bossie” chronicles his youth. His third is a fictionalized account of the Iowa National Guard’s fight against IED’s in Iraq.
After a listening to Curt, one believes his descriptions of his writing and his work are accurate — “some are funny, some are subtle and some are violent.” All in all, a warm sunny afternoon was well spent with Curt at the first Dover Sunday.
Darlene Lutes announced that July 16 is the date of the next Dover Sunday.
