From Ledger to Abstraction: The Sterling Collection
At the end of each day, the Kentucky doctor sat down with his ledger book.
He'd find the patient's page, or the family's page, and record the date, the reason for the appointment, and how they paid. The payments would pile up, recorded by type—visit or medication—to be paid together in cash, by check, or settled with eggs or firewood.
The massive book, leather-covered and a solid three inches thick, held ten years of work.
Between the pages were the folded receipts of the doctor's life. Bills for oats to feed the horse (which was brought to the blacksmith for new shoes) and for repairs to the cart that transported him to appointments. A bill from the tailor for repairs to his jacket and a new suit for his son. The extensive, expensive costs of building a house in 1908.
The layers are thick with texture—aged, yellowed, and fragile papers. Stand close, and you'll find yourself reading between the collage, discovering the doctor's world embedded in the abstract compositions.
These papers began the collection. I read them all and imagined the lives and stories of the people who filled them. They became part of something new in these abstract works, as I brought different people together and united their lives.
I added letterpress prints for color and maps for travel dreams. If I imagined the stories, I wanted them to feel bright and exciting, in contrast to all the work and effort contained in the ledger's pages. Each piece holds multiple histories for the viewer to discover.
© 2026, Sarah Z Short, The Answer to this Could Be, 22” x 16”, paper and acrylic paint
© 2026, Sarah Z Short, Keeping Notes, 12” x 9”, paper and acrylic paint