Introducing the 2022 Botanical Collection
A DISCLAIMER
I have always struggled with writing about my own artwork- and so, for the most part, I’ve avoided it. Even though I’m an artist first and business owner by default, I’ve always found it easier to talk and write about the nuances of entrepreneurship (time management, deadlines, productivity, proposals and contracts)- most of which I still know so little about, mind you!- than to write about what I love to do. I think that part of it comes from the fact that I’ve always secretly been afraid that I’m not a “real” artist.
I came into the “art world” slowly and accidentally as an elementary school art teacher who had always loved to make things. My mission has always been the same- I want to make things that make people smile, that bring joy and beauty to people’s homes- but there’s a part of me that’s always felt that what I’m making doesn’t warrant an Artist’s Statement. Aside from our 2021 textile launch, I’ve never really released a collection of work with an overall theme- I make things that I like as inspiration changes, and there isn’t usually a cohesive theme for any given release.
All of this to say- I am really proud of this particular collection of work, because I think that in a way, it’s a reflection of the fact that- although it’s taken a LOT of changes these past few years to get here- I now acknowledge myself as a Real Artist.
ARTIST STATEMENT: THE 2022 BOTANICAL COLLECTION
I have always loved flowers (who doesn’t?) and think they make some of the best subjects because they don’t move, can be found just about anywhere, and although almost every artist I can think of has painted them, there can be countless different interpretations. It’s impossible not to bring a bit of yourself to a botanical study.
I released a series of botanical prints in early 2020 inspired by photos of flowers I found in books and online. This time, it was important to me to use either actual flowers (when I could) or photos I had taken of flowers as references.
I started working on this collection in January, and as there wasn’t a lot growing in Falls Church, the first paintings from this series are based off of flower photos I’ve taken on my phone over the past few years. The dahlias from the Wallflower series are based off of a dahlia on a lavender farm we visited during our honeymoon in New Zealand in 2019. The poppies are based off of a bouquet that my studio manager, Catherine, brought me in April 2021, and the sunflower is inspired by a sunflower I photographed on one of my first post-bedrest walks this past July, overheated and 37 weeks pregnant and still so very grateful to be out of the house and moving. Catherine and I purchased the hydrangea on an afternoon trip to a local flower shop while my mother-in-law watched my daughter, the dogwood model was snapped off a tree that grows outside my studio window and finally, the maidenhair fern- which I have somehow managed to keep alive since late February!- was ordered online after obsessing for months over an antique botanical illustration I’d found on Pinterest.
The 2022 Botanical Collection (so far!) is made up of two series of work (and a seashell, and a lampshade, because some things will never change).
The Wallflower Series is a series of one of thirteen botanical illustrations I painted while designing two of patterns from our 2022 textile collection, which will be released later this year . These bright and bold botanicals are a departure from my 2020 botanical collection, and a testament to the fact that an artist’s work and style is always changing and evolving.
The Virginia Series is a series of nine tiny 3x4 botanicals that I painted while training for a ten-mile race (which occurred last weekend!) Each botanical was inspired by the different flowers I came across on her training runs, and was matted with custom-cut double mats (a labor of love- I learned so much in the mat-cutting/matting process!) and framed by Catherine and me.
Speaking of Catherine- I am so grateful for her help and expertise throughout the process of this launch. From accompanying me to the local florist to learning how to properly hinge artwork together to photographing the collection ourselves, she has been with me through every step of the way, and I couldn’t ask for a better friend and coworker. She challenges me to explore my practice as an artist, and to think about why I create what I do the way I do.
When I look back at how much has changed over the course of this past year in not only my personal life but also my life as an artist and business owner, I feel simultaneously proud and humbled. I’ve worked hard, accomplished a lot, and haven’t always gotten it right, but have managed to learn from my missteps so that I can hopefully do better next time. I am thrilled to introduce to you this new collection of work, and as always, am hopeful that the best is yet to come!
