January 2019 - "My Adopted Great Aunt" Martha - by Finnabair
January is all about Stories - and I'm telling a longer one today on my blog - explaining my love for all the vintage photos, letters and notes I keep finding during the hunt in the flea markets and charity shops. Make sure you will check it out!
So now you know - I keep collecting photos of people - vintage photographs are always on the top of my list when visiting the antique stores. I love looking through them and finding new "relatives" I'd like to adopt - I'm aware I can't save all of them, but I'm doing my best to pick the ones I feel some kind of connection with. One of them is "the Lady in the hat" - I'm sure she could be my great aunt, I love her sense of style!
From the first glance I was drawn to this photo I found somewhere on the flea market and I knew I have to take it home. Secretly I gave her a name - Martha - and I was always thinking she was a city girl, working in a department store or pharmacy, wearing long, heavy black or brown dresses and loving the opera.
I'm sure she was fluent in French and she loved books - and she was secretly hoping one day she will travel to France and meet the love of her life. Apparently, she was not happy with her marriage, but she had a loving heart and she was longing for a great romance in her life...
I can continue the story - but you can see what is happening to me when the "adoption" process is started. I keep making up stories for my "new relatives" trying to read their personalities from their faces and imagine the life they had. Maybe it is a kind of compensation for all the family stories we lost because of the II World War? There isn't a single photo in my family which would be taken before the war - and I secretly envy my husband who has some really old ones in his family album!
If you will look at the collage I've created for Martha maybe you can feel all the positive emotions I wanted to express - I treated her as I would treat anyone from my own family - with love and respect, trying to frame her beautifully and show as much of her personality as possible.
When working with real, old photographs I carefully pick my materials - I prefer to use some real vintage objects I have in my stash than embellishments from the craft store - I will try to include at least one object like this in my project! This time I've added an old key, some electrical parts (somehow they go nicely with the Victorian Era, don't you think?) and pieces of handmade lace. Can you spot them on the photos?
I hope you feel inspired and you will join us at Art Daily Cafe and share your Story - we are waiting for you on the blog, Instagram and FB Group!
Inlinkz Link Party
So now you know - I keep collecting photos of people - vintage photographs are always on the top of my list when visiting the antique stores. I love looking through them and finding new "relatives" I'd like to adopt - I'm aware I can't save all of them, but I'm doing my best to pick the ones I feel some kind of connection with. One of them is "the Lady in the hat" - I'm sure she could be my great aunt, I love her sense of style!
I can continue the story - but you can see what is happening to me when the "adoption" process is started. I keep making up stories for my "new relatives" trying to read their personalities from their faces and imagine the life they had. Maybe it is a kind of compensation for all the family stories we lost because of the II World War? There isn't a single photo in my family which would be taken before the war - and I secretly envy my husband who has some really old ones in his family album!
When working with real, old photographs I carefully pick my materials - I prefer to use some real vintage objects I have in my stash than embellishments from the craft store - I will try to include at least one object like this in my project! This time I've added an old key, some electrical parts (somehow they go nicely with the Victorian Era, don't you think?) and pieces of handmade lace. Can you spot them on the photos?
I hope you feel inspired and you will join us at Art Daily Cafe and share your Story - we are waiting for you on the blog, Instagram and FB Group!
If you feel inspired by this month’s theme – STORIES UNTOLD - please feel free to add your project to inlinkz below:
So good! My daughters & I do this too. Always wondering about the lives of the people in the photographs & guessing their stories & histories. Sad their stories are unknown & lost. I bet they never dreamed their photos would become such treasure to creative dreamers & artists of the future. I have an antique suitcase full of the wonderful ephemera, photographs & publications we find & collect on our estate sale & flea market treasure hunts. Shelves full of antique books, dictionaries, music etc.. I want to do something with it all. You & your fellow moths are very inspiring! HUGS YOU ARE LOVED! *☆♡☆*
ReplyDelete