The Heffner Family archive is built around family photos found in basements and old boxes. What had started as an archive built from curiosity and grief turned into a process of building new relationships with family members through mediums that helped me understand them better.

The things that drew me most to these photographs were the patterns on their clothing or the objects surrounding them, such as the polka dot pattern on my Dad’s tie or the color blocking that appeared on my Grandma’s obi (Kimono belt).

I wanted these photographs to live beyond just being a photograph sitting in a box and be turned into patterns that could be seen on everyday items such as an exercise book or a poster.