Project 1: Timmy Lew Wright
This book is titled Timmy Lew Wright in honor of my father who has passed. This book was created using Stonehenge cream paper, handmade paper (using flowers from my dad's funeral), one of his dress shirts, DASS transfers, and a Cricut was used to deboss pieces of letters that people wrote for me.
I created this book in order to save a piece of my father for years in the future. I wanted to save his stories and life for others to remember and for me to keep him close to my soul. I didn't get a lot of time to be friends with my father, because we had some strong differences when I was growing up. Becoming friends with my dad the year before he passed was one of the best and hardest things I've had to do in my life. I knew going into the friendship that it was the last chance and that if I didn't take it now I would lose it and any chance I had of getting to really know my father. I decided to start recording every time I went to visit him in the nursing home after he was moved in. Listening to those recordings I realized I still didn't know much about my father. Reading the letters everyone wrote me helped me make up for the time and memories I had lost.
I had a lot of issues with this book in many ways, like all art pieces it has its own problems, but I have learned so much while making this book. It has definitely been one of the most memorable pieces I have ever worked on. At times I had to take a break because I would realize that part of me expected my dad to walk in my front door looking brand new, so reading the letters and seeing the pictures and realizing he was gone was a lot to handle.
I'm glad I decided to create this book, and will cherish the lessons I learned and the memories I have saved in my heart forever.
HUGE thank you to everyone who wrote me a letter, and to my mother for helping me stitch the cover cloth at 12am on a Sunday.
I created this book in order to save a piece of my father for years in the future. I wanted to save his stories and life for others to remember and for me to keep him close to my soul. I didn't get a lot of time to be friends with my father, because we had some strong differences when I was growing up. Becoming friends with my dad the year before he passed was one of the best and hardest things I've had to do in my life. I knew going into the friendship that it was the last chance and that if I didn't take it now I would lose it and any chance I had of getting to really know my father. I decided to start recording every time I went to visit him in the nursing home after he was moved in. Listening to those recordings I realized I still didn't know much about my father. Reading the letters everyone wrote me helped me make up for the time and memories I had lost.
I had a lot of issues with this book in many ways, like all art pieces it has its own problems, but I have learned so much while making this book. It has definitely been one of the most memorable pieces I have ever worked on. At times I had to take a break because I would realize that part of me expected my dad to walk in my front door looking brand new, so reading the letters and seeing the pictures and realizing he was gone was a lot to handle.
I'm glad I decided to create this book, and will cherish the lessons I learned and the memories I have saved in my heart forever.
HUGE thank you to everyone who wrote me a letter, and to my mother for helping me stitch the cover cloth at 12am on a Sunday.