Family Photo Series

Doing the pattern pieces from my figure painting class inspired me when it came time to do a final project for my figure drawing class. I had been thinking a lot about my family, and in particular my great-grandparents. I knew my mother’s grandparents very well, and always felt very close to my great-grandfather, as I am sure all of his posterity did. Great-grandpa, or the “Old Man” as he liked to be called had a way of making us all feel special. He passed away in 2007 at the ripe old age of 103. He had stayed extremely clear in his memory all his life, and had told us so many stories when we would visit him on Sundays. He was born in July of 1903 and had lived his life through a century of some of the most dramatic changes the world had ever seen. This connection I felt to him and to his memories of the past have always given me a great appreciation for everything I have, and a love for the history of my family. Thanks to the skilled documenters in my family we have many images of my great-grandfathers family as they were growing up, and I feel that images from old cameras are some of the most beautiful and intimate kind of photographs. In this series there is simultaneously a sharpness, and a haziness that recalls the nostalgia of a memory. All images I used were from my family's photos, and although I am finished with this series, I plan on using my family history and its photo documentation in a lot more of my artwork in the future.

One of the things I remember hearing about is that my great-grandmother would make her own patterns instead of spending money to buy them. She would also use old flour sacks for cloth to construct the clothes. Wow. How amazing that: A. pretty much everyone knew how to sew, especially their own clothes, and B. they were creative enough to use what they had and not be wasteful. I am always so impressed by the ability and resourcefulness of those who came before me. How amazing the women from our past are, and I am grateful for the wonderful heritage they have passed to us. This was a great inspiration to me as I worked on this series.

Family Photo Series
Each piece is 12"x 18"

2010