Way of Flowers….
Weeding not necessary…
When I was a child, I never wanted a garden… I much preferred Art to Weeding, coloring with my 2 favorite crayons, the brick red and the forest green. I drew flowers on blank pieces of paper and “planted” them on my bedroom walls. I wanted to cover my walls with art - not necessarily pretty flowers but flowers that spoke to me – angry flowers, sad flowers, cheerful flowers.
The unexpected stillness of the Covid-19 pandemic echoed the self-contained world of my childhood artmaking. Turning my attention to the real flowers that arrived with grocery deliveries, I rediscovered the profound joy of experimenting with color, backgrounds, and composition. Printing these photographs and arranging them in my studio evoked the same sense I experienced as a child “planting” my walls with crayon drawings. The magic is seeing the flower in your mind’s eye, the excitement of the beginning. The science is standing back and thinking how to make it real, how to get the long stem to balance on the candlestick.
Working with my flower project is a return to childhood play and the pleasure of invention. “The Way of Flowers” explores my ongoing fascination with the expressive potential of a flower, a connection that traces back to my childhood crayon drawings.
Three is a study in simplicity, where negative space amplifies the delicate beauty of the three spheres atop the slender stems.
A dance of decay with its ghostly shadow, creating a mood of melancholy with its muted tone.
Side Step feels like a dream about to end in hazy light. It is a study in quietude and balance.
Her Lips, a quiet still life with a hint of motion. In sepia tones, a vintage pitcher overflows with blooms and berries.
Day and Night are a bouquet of dreamy poppies that blur the lines between light and dark, reality and memory.
Metallica is a study in contrast, the monochrome palette accentuates the stark beauty of the delicate plant to the humble teapot.
Blackbird strives for freedom and liberation as it is frozen in a moment of quiet grace in its almost abstract dance.
Her Lips, a quiet still life with a hint of motion. In sepia tones, a vintage pitcher overflows with blooms and berries.
The Unfurling, suggesting growth revelation and mystery
Pure Love is a floral arrangement, one in sepia toned grace with a vintage feel, 3 tulips dreamlike emerge from a textured base.
Rooted in clay the flowers find a way to life
Glass Half Full is the struggle to define and bread away.
Balancing Act is a solitary chrysanthemum rising from an ornate stand, balancing as it reaches for light.
Elementary is a stark contrast of delicate petals juxtaposed with sharp thorns. Spiky blooms in a slender delicate vase.
Come Fly With Me is all about fun, a delicate chrysanthemum flapping its petals as it rises from its stark cylindrical base.
Forged Grace, a combination of strength and elegance
Ghosting is light emanating from within this flower blurring the lines between flower and atmosphere. It is dreamlike and hazy like a vapor.
TickToc takes a step towards us, in mid swing of its textured disk like the pendulum of a clock.