(Above: At Risk Adoption, Decision Portrait Series. Stitched words: A Family Decision. Xylene photo transfer on tea-stained muslin. Hand beaded and stitched. 31" x 41", framed. Click on image to enlarge.)
Permanently welcoming a child into a loving family changes EVERYTHING! The child will no longer face the uncertainty of life in foster care. The family grows, introducing the new child's already formed personality into the family's established mix. Very special people make this important decision. I am lucky enough to live about a block from such people....so....let me introduce my neighbors! In back from left to right: Zeb, Gini, Hoke; In front from left to right: Liberty and Daniel.
(Above: Detail of At Risk Adoption. Click on image to enlarge.)
It isn't important which of the kids will soon be adopted. It doesn't alter the fact that this is a family. Last year, they all actively participated in the decision to include another person in their tight unit. In fact, the decision involved extended family members too. In the "immediate" family, the eldest daughter, Jessica, is missing from this photo. She's a lovely grown woman (who is my Photoshop instructor and an artist in her own right!) This image depicts those living in the "family home"....a block away. Another family member, Grandma, also posed for the Decision Portrait Series. She's my College Student. This decision was carefully made by everyone involved...a year ago. Now, this is simply a family....a fantastic family!
(Above and further below: Detail of At Risk Adoption. Click on image to enlarge.)
Personally, I don't think I could have made it through the day my younger son Alex left home without Gini. She was there for all of us, too. The love that exudes from their home simply spills out all over the neighborhood. I think this decision, this portrait, and this family make a very important statement for the entire series.
1 comment:
Oh Susan...you have class. This is an exceptional post. A great addition to Decisions Portraits. Family is, to me, the most important thing. And you depicted it so well. And you are so right...it doesn't matter which child is soon to be adopted. Family is family. And this family represents all the love and devotion a family should have.
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