16” x 20”
Canvas, recycled materials, okra paper, lemongrass paper, natural plant dyes
2023
“I like to think of it as ‘a forest of flowers’. But my flowers are special. They’re a symbol of hope and beauty in our rapidly evolving world. My flowers find a space to bloom through civilization, and through technology. Through wars, through climate change, and through all of the hate we’ve created. My message is that even though the modern world is quickly taking over nature, there are still flowers blooming. Finding gaps in the sidewalk, finding space in our world, being beautiful all the same.”
The base is made from all recycled materials. The materials are from wherever I could gather them. Some were from my school, while others were from my neighborhood. I wanted to place them with intentional chaos, like they were tossed around in a hurricane or in a tornado. I started with the base and worked my way up. I covered the top of the canvas in Lemongrass paper that I made with the help of my classmates. I made the flowers using okra paper, sent to us by the artist Doug Baulos. I colored them using natural dyes that I made using flowers from my school. I dyed them by squishing flowers into the paper fibers.”