Ancestor Museum
Finding familiar names on census records and old city directories, I imagine my grandparents and great grandparents as children living in family units in old parts of the city or towns I had always heard of. I read about Irish immigration and locate the estimated years that my ancestral families came to America. Objects that I had saved from my own grandparents combined with photographs, my memories and family stories started to coalesce and my artwork evolved.
I took photos of some of the “heirlooms” in my possession, which are mostly everyday items and interesting to me because they mingled closely in my family’s lives and retain that energy. I printed the photos on fabric and combined them with textiles or other objects to create assemblages. I think in some ways they are like small shrines. In the Howland Library in Beacon, NY, I included the original objects along with the artwork. I have also created a book that is both a catalogue of my art and includes family stories and memories.
