| Our fall semester creativity class concentrated on the theme of "Nature". I began thinking of nature and what it means to me. Each time I did...my mind would say to me: Nature - human nature. It is the nature of humans to want to know who we are and where we come from. That is why we use the terms 'family tree', 'branches' of the family, and finding our 'roots'. My mother's parents came to the U.S. from Norway; they settled in North Dakota and had three daughters. I have met my aunts and several cousins. My dad rarely spoke of his family, and did so only when asked. His father originated in Ireland, emigrated to the U.S., and married my grandmother in Douglas Arizona in 1905. Grandpa was hired by the merchants of Wilcox to keep the peace. In 1914 he was shot to death by a group of outlaws. At that time my dad was three years old. Having seen his "Da" lying dead on the floor of the saloon with a bullet in his head was a memory he would always retain. Five years later his mother died, leaving my dad and his sister Ida orphaned. Ida, five uears my dad's senior, struck out on her own to do housekeeping for local ranch families. My dad was only eight years old - as he put it, he was too young to be of value because he was too young to work. So he went on the road, alone, and somehow survived. Having grown up without any knowledge of my dad's relatives has always caused me to wonder who they might be, where they had settled, what they have achieved. To date my search for them has not been successful. However, over the past twenty years I have collected (very selectively) old photos of someone's relatives; discarded, abandoned; collecting dust in antique shops and second hand stores. I have "adopted" them and made them my own. I am showing a dozen collages depicting my new family members. Each is a unique personality; each tells a story; each is close to my heart. Enjoy them. - Linda Randers (12/01) |
| Linda Randers Family Portraits and Stories of the Imagination Creativity Class 2001 |
| Artist's Statement |