In July 2011, I attended a darkroom photography program at Cranbrook Art Institute in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Each student chose a project to focus on during these three weeks, and ultimately student work was displayed in the art show at the culmination of the program.
I was spending the month of July with my grandmother who lives in MI. One night I was rummaging through "junk" in her basement, where I had spent time playing as a child so often during my summers in MI. Here-- the idea came to me.
For this concentration I photographed articles of clothing and objects that were found in my grandmother's basement. All of the photographs were either taken in the basement space, using a wood paneled wall for backdrop, or in a studio at Cranbrook Art Institute. This body of work is collectively titled "A Diamond in the Rough" because each object in these photographs is simply that--- something special hidden beneath 40 years of accumulated "junk". These discoveries brought me closer to my grandmother, as each article has its own story and it own past which she was eager to share with me and reminisce on. Thus, the three weeks spent composing the following images were not only enjoyable, but they were also fulfilling and rewarding.