October 4th – November 7th

The WAR LETTERS PROJECT was begun in 2007 after rediscovering the old letters in a collection of my Grandmother’s things, saved in an old tin box. Essie Smith (née Sann) lived on a farm not far from Beamsville Ontario and corresponded with many of the young men from her rural community during both World Wars, sending them encouragement through parcels and letters. The soldiers, stationed overseas, wrote back to her and she saved many of the letters that she felt were particularly significant.

The wartime letters represent a link between the women at home and the men overseas during both World Wars. Letters, parcels, and other ephemera are a part of this history, as are certain locales. By bringing these components together in assemblages and textile pieces, I present a different commentary for the viewer to read, one that sometimes expresses pain and suffering, but most often hope.

“The War Letters Project” is about that history.

(Source: https://www.lindafinn.com/pages/about-the-war-letters-project)