Using lumen prints, I added a burst of color and life to the images of my home in California. The process of creating them was meditative and therapeutic. By using these prints as a counterpoint to the melancholy I experienced in the city, I created a visual representation of the love and warmth that I associate with my home. I turned this project into a book, documenting my emotions during my first year away from home as well as seeing my family again. They also share their meaning of home in the book. 

Moving to New York and starting school at NYU was exciting but also caused me a ton of anxiety, leaving behind my life in California. During my first Thanksgiving alone in New York, I felt lonely and disconnected from the big city. Soon memories of my new favorite places in New York like the Meatpacking District and Elizabeth Street Garden became melancholic. Finally, returning home for the first time for Christmas instantly reminded me that home is forever a place of love and warmth, inspiring me to create a project celebrating my home.