Love Like the Sparrows, Brings Luck to a Home

One of the ways that I like to preserve family memories is by incorporating family photos into my art. The following quote was the inspiration for this folio: “Love like the sparrows, brings luck to a home”. Author unknown

Notice the sparrow on the rooftop. Sometimes the sparrow is hiding, where can it be?

For more information on how to make moveable figures like these check out my book - Interactive Art Workshop:Mixed Media in Motion

First I scanned family photos into my computer. I had Adobe Photoshop until my last computer crashed. unfortunately I had also misplaced the installation CD's. I tried several photo manipulation programs but was frustrated with their limited capabilities. Then I found GIMP. “GIMP is free image editing software that perfects photos and creates animated images. One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, GIMP can be used as a simple paint program, an expert-quality photo retouching program, image format converter and more”. You can download GIMP for free here: www.getgimp.com.

Pull up the tab with the sparrow to reveal the quote above the roof plus Bessie, Louis, and Anna in the windows.

Inside the folio are Louis Sr., Anna, Louis and Bessie.

For the background I took a picture from a view of my backyard. I decreased the saturation to give the landscape a vintage appearance. To create a pocket, I photographed this quaint fence from a town nearby and also manipulated the saturation. Some silk flowers were added for extra dimension.

Close-up of Louis Sr. sitting in a chair. By the way, I would love to own this chair.

Lift open Louis Sr’s jacket to reveal the sparrow and a nest full of eggs.

Isn’t little Anna cute with her embroidered fabric skirt, lace collar and silk flowers in her hair? But wait, why the smug look on her face?

She was hiding the sparrow behind her back!

Bessie is all dressed up with her lace collar and bouquet of silk flowers.

Where did the sparrow go? Is it here?

Or there?

Doesn't Louis look dapper with his pocket watch chain hanging out of his pocket?

Or under Louis' hat!

I hope you enjoyed the little story told using pictures of my ancestors and a sparrow.

I wish you much LOVE and LUCK!