Departing Visions by Dorothy McCuistion

In July of 2022 my brother-in-law Hugh was coming to the end of his life. He was far away in another state and unconscious. I spent many days in the summer sun making cyanotypes and thinking about Hugh. Included in the prints I made are objects that are symbols of life and death and a few items representative of Hugh’s life. After he died, my sister Ruth sent a list of “things that made Hugh happy.”  In this book, some of the overlapping words from that list can be easily read and others only read with difficulty as they are printed sideways, upside-down, or layered. Everyone dreams differently, and this book is my vision of what Hugh might have dreamt during the days he was letting go of his physical life. I imagined him moving through his life and remembering the things that brought pleasure and joy. This book reflects a life lived boldly with energy and passion.