Turkish folktales and his love of music. In the summer of 1990, I decided to
put to paper all of his Turkish stories, which sent me on a journey to
research my family tree.
After my grandfather’s death, I interviewed my grandmother to find out
her story. At 17, she met my grandfather and they crossed the state
border to get married, since she was too young to marry in the State of
New York. During my interview, she went to the closet and took out a
pink department store box full of heirloom photographs, letters,
newspaper clippings, menus and programs that documented their life
together. Though I didn't know the name for it at the time that is when my
fascination with Ephemera began. All of these photographs and
clippings told a story – a love story – of my grandparents.
transfers of my grandmother’s things.
My current work, composed of vintage images transferred to polymer clay, celebrates those everyday
things often taken for granted, such as photographs, labels or postage stamps.
By studying ephemera, those short-lived things or printed matters of passing interest, I have gained an
unexpected knowledge of the arts, history, printing technologies, as well as an appreciation for details and
my own family story.