I’m sitting here spinning a ring around my pinky finger.  It’s the turquoise ring I saw my Grandmother wear everyday.  In fact, I so closely associate this ring to my Grandmother that for the first two years after her death I didn’t take it out of the drawer.  I rarely wear it, but lately I’ve been drawn to it.  It called to me to pull it out of the drawer and wear it this past Christmas and on my birthday – almost as a way to have a part of my Grandmother there to share in the joy.

This January I went to a photo seminar in Mystic, CT – Mystic 5 – where I heard the fabulous David Williams speak.  He asked a question of the audience – “Think of a loved one.  Do you have every photograph you could ever want of them?”  This question reminded me again of my Grandmother.

You see my Grandmother was the champion of all my dreams.  I was able to be an exchange student to NZ because of her and go to photography school.  She bought me a brand new 501c Hasselblad to take with me – a film camera I will never part with!  She loved art and film and we would make dates to go see the latest art/foreign film release.  David’s presentation helped me remember these wonderful things about her and reconnect with some of the reasons why I became a photographer.

Two of the first images I ever took with the 501c were of my Grandmother sitting in my parents living room.  Portraits were very important to her.  She dressed up, put makeup on and donned earrings for this sitting.  Interestingly enough it’s one of the few times she’s not wearing the ring.  I love these two images.  Of all the images I’ve taken they rank amongst my most favorite.  To me they are the complete essence of my Grandmother and how in my mind she still lives.  So with this post I honer her – the woman who was always the champion of all my dreams.