Dorothy Wetzler Bracken was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1914, the second daughter of German-American parents who owned a butcher stall in Hollins’ Market. She was graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art with a degree in costume design in 1935. These are some of her original watercolor designs; they capture Dorothy’s timeless, elegant sense of style.

Despite encouragement from her instructors, Dorothy never pursued her dreams to become a fashion designer. Instead, she was waylaid by an illness that has too often been suffered in secrecy and silence: depression triggered by childbirth.

Dorothy married in 1937 and gave birth to five children. From the birth of her first child, she endured lifelong, frequently severe depression.

She never again pursued or even spoke of her fashion dream, and she hid her watercolors in an art portfolio in the basement. That’s where her daughter Ann found them in 1999, over 60 years later.

These cards are Ann’s tribute to the memory of her mother and to the hope that the power of self-expression and beauty can restore one’s spirit and overcome feelings of depression. Dorothy’s dream is for you to live yours!

Dorothy’s dream is for you to live yours!

• To purchase cards, contact me at anniebluepoet@gmail.com and I will send an invoice. Price is $20.00 per set including postage (Shipping limited to the USA only)
• Each set includes ten cards, two of each design, with envelopes.
• Card size: 5-1/2″ by 4-1/4″
• Packaged in individual organza bags.
• $20.00 per set