Family Heirlooms

Family, it is what makes us who we are. My family is very important to me and they have instilled values and beliefs in me that I still hold on to today. This body of work pays respect to my grandmother and mother. I have gone to many reviews on my work I am always told that the work about myself and my family is the strongest. 



I remember as a young child seeing a photograph of my grandparents in a long white christening gown. I remember thinking about how beautiful the image was. When I started this body of work I knew that I wanted to create cyanotype images on christening gowns. I am working with my mom who is the seamstress on the gowns. My grandmother taught my mom how to sew. I wanted to use the christening gowns not only because of the photo that saw but also to pay tribute to our faith and the way that my grandma, mom and myself were raised. My grandparents were farmers and they always had respect for everyone. You knew that if you were ever hungry and showed up at dinner time that they would set a place for you at the table. The same is true if you visited my aunt’s, uncle’s and my family home. The gowns and the images themselves so how simple life then.



The images in this series show the family farm that was in my family for over 100 years, images of my grandmother and where we would visit in the summer and the last image in the series in of my mom holding the flag that was on my father’s casket. The images have a nostalgic feeling to them even though they are my views on who I am. I know that this body of work will showcase the alternative photography process in a positive light and shows the relations and trials of 3 generations of women.