“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to those who take care of us.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer
If you have read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer yet, I highly recommend it. I read it several years ago and it has been influential on me since. Both of these quotes are from that book.
My current body of work that is at Gallery Blue Door for my show Duality of Being, contains pieces that speak to this idea of reciprocity and healing. I was speaking to someone close to me the other day about how for me, the earth always saves me. That’s where I always turn. It must stem from childhood, where I would run to my favorite old Magnolia tree and climb it’s 3 story high branches and find comfort in its embrace. Or maybe it stems from when I am out in places that feel like quiet wild, that I realize how small I am and we are just a blip. Or maybe it’s just inherent in my cells that remember that we have evolved with the earth for thousands of years and they remember how that feels.
Last fall I was cutting down the spent lavender in my garden and they were so beautiful, even in their fading form, that I had to take photos. I made a piece last year in a similar vein. I knew I wanted to make another as I was a bit obsessed with capturing that moment. With this piece I incorporated salvaged copper, which I find to convey beauty and resilience.
This piece is currently at Gallery Blue Door, please get in touch with myself or the gallery if you have any questions.