A Little Girl and the Whole Wide World/30 Days of Gratitude
When I was given a time frame to decide what my final project as a RISD student would be…well, quite honestly I struggled. Two weeks prior to my final semester, I lost my dear father suddenly at the young age of 68. I do take great pride in recording memories with my camera, however, when my father passed, it was then that I realized I failed to record him. My parents have lived very far from me for the past twenty years and I was saddened by the fact that I did not take every opportunity to document special moments during every visit I had with them.
So the decision to channel the pain from my tremendous loss helped create my final project at RISD. I looked at the project as an opportunity to make up for what I had not done for my father and do it for my two children. Yes, I can honestly say that I have tens of thousands of images of my children (now 2 and 6); I wanted to give them something that they can forever look back upon and smile. I decided to make a fusion video as my final RISD project. A fusion video is a compilation of short video clips and still images that are taken simultaneously to create movement. (Both of these projects contain over 25 video clips and between 350-400 still images)
I was torn with two ideas for this project and decided to do both. First, I chose to document my 2 year old daughter because she was a special surprise for us; and 2 is such an amazing age. Secondly, I wanted to document thirty days of gratitude in my life – I honestly believe the drive for this project came from my father. These projects definitely pushed my limits, which I loved, and were both so fulfilling to my soul. I hope you enjoy this view into my love for my life and those who are most important to me.
