Here are the photos from my final project.
My theme was gift giving, so each of my friends from the portrait project thought of a gift which was meaningful to them for one reason or another. Their stories were amazing - stories of wonderful memories, hopeful promises, love, beauty, freedom, and joy.
As each person shared personal stories with me, I found that through the creative process of shooting, developing, and printing the photos, writing quotes from the stories that they had told me in calligraphy, and placing each photo and quote in my hand-cut (yes, that's why they are sometimes crooked) mattes - I was giving pieces of myself back to them. That time spent alone working on this art and reflecting on their stories, allowing myself to be moved by what they are moved by, was truly the best gift any of them could have given me.
I think this project taught me a lot about the small wonders we hold inside and don't talk about often enough. It also reminded me of the creative potential that each of us has (and yes, I think we all have it, it has just been buried down too deep to easily tap into) and how important it is to release that. So I encourage everyone to take a moment to think about what your answer would be to those hard questions. What was your favorite memory of the past year? 5 years? 10 years? What is it that you find so special about your best friends? Sisters? Brothers? Parents? What are those blessings that you've been given that just choke you up every time?
Take time to reflect, and give thanks, and actively live in the love that sacrifices all to afford us those blessings that we never deserved.
