Thursday, July 07, 2005

working hands adorned

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It's impolite to tell a woman's age, so let's just say that Marge and her husband have been married for 56 years. These are working hands. Hands that have probably never seen a professional manicure. They're hands with strength and characters, adorned with rings collected over the many years of conducting estate sales. Each ring has a story, known only to the original owner.

The line up changes constantly. Some rings stay on the hand for awhile and are replaced with something different, more interesting or more storied. Marge holds my five dollar bill in payment for special treasures I discovered at her barn sale - a pyrex glass pie plate and a hand-carved figurine from Indonesia.

6 comments:

srp said...

Does Marge know some of the stories behind the rings? Perhaps you could persuade her to share them with us.

Suzanne said...

Unfortunately, most come from estate sales where she is brought in to buy an entire lot. Huge amounts of merchandise. No time for stories behind the stuff I guess.

Rurality said...

What a great shot! So full of soul. I think this is my favorite of all the great ones that I've seen here. :) I love the Bugs in the background too.

srp said...

Then we will just have to leave it to you to spin the wonderful tales.

Sarah said...

This is a lovely photo, very quiet and powerful. The B&W works very well, and the rings on her fingers are very interesting. Nice.

Ezequiel Mesquita said...

Great shot! Very expressive, works great in B&W. The Beetles in the background are a story on they own!