Self Portrait with Ribbon Lady

Dear Diary,

Matt has been helping me with the odious task of cleaning out the attic of the barn.  We are half way done.  I found this Victorian ribbon lady stored up there and it is now hanging on the porch.  I wanted to take a photo of it but couldn't find an angle or time of day when I wasn't clearly reflected in it so I thought...self portrait, well, sort of.

In a way though, this photograph sums up my intense interest in history and wanting to relate to it in an intimate and meaningful way and, of course, it has a memory connected with it.  My cousin Mary collected ribbon ladies at one time.  She had dozens of these handmade beauties.  Ladies of the Victorian era would buy the paper parts and then create the dresses and bouquets.  It was a 19th century DIY!

Crafting of one sort or another runs deep in my family.  This ribbon lady reminds me of the paper dolls I use to make with my mother.  Creating was encouraged and nurtured in our house and it became such an intrinsic part of my life.  As the twig is bend so grows the tree!