McCanns

Tom Reflected, photograph by Karen DavisWhen we were small, over half a century ago, my younger sister Cheryl played with a set of dolls she called the “McCann Family.” They were a thinly disguised version of our family. Cheryl decided she was “Tom McCann,” the spunky boy doll. I was, “MaryAnn,” the girl doll. At first Tom could stand alone. Later he always lost his balance. Cheryl diagnosed him with Polio. She fitted him with crutches and braces like hers. (Cheryl was born with spina bifida.)

Tom thought Mother and Father disliked having a disabled child. He felt bad about that. One day, Father’s leg fell off. Cheryl taped it back on as a prosthesis. After Father became an amputee, he was a lot more understanding about his son.

When Cheryl died in 2006, I inherited the McCann Family. Now I place the four-inch tall dolls on stage and direct their actions. I present these emphatically colored photographs in a large format to bring both the McCanns and memories of childhood to life.

The McCann Family by Karen DavisThe McCann Family is also a book, 7×7 inches. The figures in the book are close to life size: 4 inches.
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In 2009, for the McCann Family Portfolio, I received the CPW Artist Fellowship Award juried by Hannah Frieser, Director of Light Work. Juror’s Statement

Dinners Were Tense from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Dinners Were Tense

Mother Works on Tom from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Mother Works on Tom

Close As Children from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Close As Children

Mother is Vigilant from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Mother Is Vigilant

The Ball-Shaped Pain from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
The Ball-Shaped Pain

Tom Reflected from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Tom Reflected

Father Explains from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Father Explains

Mother Can Be Tender from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Mother Can Be Tender

Saturday Mornings from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Saturday Mornings

Family Portrait from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
McCann Family Portrait

Mother Dreams from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Mother Dreams

Tom Walks Alone from The McCann Family by Karen Davis
Tom Walks Alone