How old does an item have to be to be considered and artifact or heirloom? I would argue that is painting, done in 2011, already meets the requirement. It is a watercolor of our daughter, painted by her great “granny”, Muriel Joy Gregory Petit (1930-2014). Granny is my wife’s maternal grandmother. You read about her wedding invitation here.
Granny was a talented artist. We have several of her works hanging in our home. This painting was based off of a candid photo we took of our daughter, as a toddler, keys in hand and on her tiptoes trying to unlock the front door of the first home she lived in. No doubt she saw us countless times doing the very same thing.
Despite our efforts, we weren’t able to find that original photo. But I am glad that it grabbed Granny’s attention and we are lucky to have the moment memorialized in this beautiful rendering. It is the sort of heirloom that I foresee being handed down for several generations to come.
Thanks for taking a look at the Family History Artifact of the Day Challenge! Every day in May I will be posting a family artifact or heirloom. I hope you’ll join!
To participate or see what other’s are posting consider joining the private Friends of the Psychogenealogist Facebook Group.
See All of the Challenge Posts:
In May of 2020 I challenged myself and others to write every day for a month about a family heirloom or artifact. Here are 10 lessons I learned from this genealogy writing experience.