Nursery Butterflies, Murphy-Craven Home, 2010

Dublin Core

Title

Nursery Butterflies, Murphy-Craven Home, 2010

Subject

Butterflies
Nurseries
Parental Grief
Lesbian Mothers
Autobiographical memory

Description

Photo of multicolor silk butterflies on a clear string in a tangerine colored room.

"This string of butterflies hangs in our twins' bedroom to honor our first daughter Lily's presence in our lives. We had initially bought it for Lily’s nursery a few weeks before she left us. Although the meaning behind this commemoration is primarily for our immediate family and a close circle of friends, we were struck by this photograph that our friend, fine art photographer Arielle Doneson, snapped when she took photos of our twins a few months after they were born. This image became a comfort for both of us, especially in the absence of more tangible memories of Lily, like pictures or personal items, which many of us don't have following pregnancy loss. As I did research for this project I learned that butterflies are a common symbol that bereaved parents use to commemorate losses. The multiple colorful butterflies also reminded us of the rainbow pride flag, which seemed fitting since our twins were our 'rainbow babies,' a term I learned from other bereaved parents that is often used to describe children born after pregnancy loss. I sometimes joke that we actually have 'double rainbow babies,' born after we lost Lily and into a queer family."

Creator

Doneson, Arielle

Publisher

Craven, Christa

Date

10-26-2010

Contributor

Craven, Christa

Rights

Presented with permission from Arielle Doneson. In Copyright.

Format

jpg, 3861 × 2574

Type

Still Image

Identifier

Butterflies 01

Coverage

Wooster, Ohio

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Photo

Physical Dimensions

Digital 3861 × 2574

Citation

Doneson, Arielle , “Nursery Butterflies, Murphy-Craven Home, 2010,” LGBTQ+ Reproductive Loss, accessed March 29, 2024, https://lgbtqreproductiveloss.org/items/show/1.

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