Raised in New England, I obtained a fine arts education at Arizona State University studying the history of photography and hand coated light sensitive emulsions. Following graduation I worked for the Library of Congress as a 19th Century Photographic Processes Specialist for the Washingtoniana Project. Eventually I set aside photographic research to raise a family, but a rag-tag darkroom was always set up in a basement corner to process yards of 35mm film from time to time. In 1994 I built a dedicated darkroom for large format film processing. I continued my work with cyanotype, van dyke, and gum bichromate printing and began to experiment with the theoretical processes I learned about in art school.
In the late 90‘s my father passed away. After scattering a tiny amount of his cremains at a favorite holiday spot, the remainder sat in a small box on the top shelf of a closet. Having the cremated remains of a loved one can be a perplexing burden, one that is avoided, neglected, or even forgotten about altogether. For many months I was unsure of what to do with them; they were the physical remains of someone who had filled my life with love and memories and I was not content to leave them on a dusty shelf or toss them into the wind.
I went to work in my darkroom and in 2 years developed a unique photographic process that allowed me to make a visual and physical memorial; I created a photograph of my father with a uniquely physical element, his cremated remains. Like a memorial or burial site, it became a place where my father is, a place to visit his memory.
The other portraits in this exhibit are also cremains prints. For more information, or to commission a print, contact me at FinalPhotograph@gmail.com
