Donna Headrick Moore

"Hope is the thing with feathers..." takes its title from a well known poem by Emily Dickenson, suggesting that hope was always with us. We didn't realize how valuable that could be when the Covid 19 Pandemic began in 2020. It was a time of uncertainty and fear. Our governor in the state of Tennessee issued a two week "safer at home" order at the end of March that ended up lasting much longer. No one knew what to expect... inspired by Emily Dickenson's poem, I began to make postcard sized lumen prints every day with feathers I found on my walks. Sometimes I made only one, sometimes several, thinking of those who suffered and those who died, as we waited for it to end and return to normal life. It became my daily meditation and I never stopped at all. It had become such an intense ritual that it was difficult to think of ending it. But, after getting my vaccine in March 2021, I knew it was time. We have all come a long way in a year, sadly over 600,000 people have died and the virus continues to plague us; life will never be normal again. But we do seem to be in a more hopeful place.

The images are all original lumen prints made on expired photo paper. Cyanotype chemistry, vinegar, salts, and household spices were randomly added to the paper with the feathers. They were exposed in the sun for several hours. On rainy or snowy day they were left out until evening. After exposure they were rinsed and fixed. The images are mounted on 4x6 birch wood panels.

The rest of the years "Feathers" are on Instagram: HopeFeathers2020

“Are you My Mother” is a project documenting the life of my mother who recently passed away after suffering with Alzheimer’s for many years. I used photographs from her photo albums and made photograms with the negatives on Cyanotype fabric. I added objects that were important to her - crocheted pieces, a button necklace she wore as a child and peacock feather from her mother’s birds. Each piece is stitched in red thread and sealed in encaustic wax - preserving a memory of another time. The project continues as I sort through boxes of old family photographs and the many small objects my mother treasured as her mind became clouded and confused and she gradually forgot who the woman looking back at her in the mirror was. In her 80’s she saw herself as that 12 year old girl wearing a button necklace her teacher had given to her so long ago.

Are You My Mother?
2016-2018
Cyanotype on Fabric / Negatives / Objects / Thread / Encaustic

 I began the Solargram Project in 2006 and have been making them regularly throughout the years. A solargram is made using a simple pinhole camera loaded with photographic paper. The camera is placed facing south. The camera captures the path of the sun as it moves across the sky. The exposures can be one day, weeks, months, or years. After the camera is taken down, the photo must be scanned to reveal the negative image, and then inverted to reveal the positive image. Sometimes water, insects or mold on the paper in the camera changes the final out come of the image. I use this process to mark the passage of time. Collecting memories of days etched on the photo paper, sometimes to mark a special day, celebration or holiday. Capturing and memorializing time, time that passes and will never be here again. A reminder of the transience of life and the importance of our time on earth. Moment Mori…..

The Night Blooming Cereus is a majestic and heavily scented plant in the Cactus family. It has an unusual growth pattern of sprawling stems and succulent leaves. Fallen leaves can be repotted to create a new plant. It is most impressive when it blooms. It can take years for this to happen but it is worth the wait. This usually happens in late summer and after dark. After a dramatic showing the flower is withered by morning. I have had my mother plant for over 50 years now, passing on many of her offspring to others. I have spent many nights observing and just being in the presence of such an incredible performance. I used a flat bed scanner, a lensless camera in a way, to slow down time and look closely at this exquisite flower in all stages of its short life.