I have to admit, I was not excited about this project. I've never been a big fan of collage, but I started to have fun once I figured out what I was including. It is made from a collection of items I inherited from my grandmother on my fathers side. After Grandma died, the adults got together and went through anything of value. Next, they laid out the smaller items such as jewelry and beauty items and let us grandchildren pick the items we wanted to keep to remember her by. She had a lot of little odds and ends. Some items have been lost or thrown away, however, these I will never get rid of. The bracelet was (to my knowledge) brought back from world war two by my grandfather. It is made of coins with designs hammered into one side. I love it both for its aesthetic value and its craftsmanship. The red background is a small red leather wallet with a beautiful design imprinted on it. The strange lit areas are actually a cheap pearl necklace that was manipulated after it was scanned. In the end, I am very happy with the image. It makes me think a lot about the things we get from our families that we don't even recognize as gifts. Strength, will power, the belief that we can be anything. I grew up with some very powerful women, and they made me who I am today.
