paperinkme: Dusty Attic June Challenge

Heritage Layout: Cornelius
I prepared this layout for the June sketch challenge at Dusty Attic. The photograph is my mother's father, Cornelius.

Lucky for me the sketch really helped me with my Heritage Family Photo project!
The door opens to reveal a newspaper clipping from 1949 when he passed away:

I have been meaning to get around to this layout for a few months now, and it was the DA sketch that inspired me. (Plus a little "nudge" from Cornelius.)
Heritage Layout Effect
(I don't know about you, but as I work with heritage layouts, I begin feel a connection to the spirit of the photograph - that's the best way I can describe it.)
My grandfather passed away a few years before I was born. In the family photo box there was only this photo and newspaper clippings of his obit.
This is the only photograph I have of him, so it was important to me to do something special.
It was a new experience to do a layout of a person I never met. My grandfather passed away a few years before I was born. In the family photo box there was only this photo and newspaper clippings of his obit.
Tribute to Life
It might seem to be sad or sentimental to include the obituary behind the door. But my intention is simply to honour a life lived with dedication and principle.
I decided to include the obit because there is so much historical detail included there. Cornelius was a detective with the police force in Montreal. He was much loved and admired by his colleagues, and was considered "the scourge of criminals " in his day.
In doing this layout, I've discovered that I want to find out more about him, so I'm going to do a little research through the newspapers and police archives and see what I can discover.
The family photo box project continues - no telling where it's going to take me, but this is the kind of research I enjoy.
Thanks for stopping by.