Mind Blooms
The Mind Blooms series explores the idea of the mind as a vast garden. In tending to your own mind, one can prune, trim, and transplant to meet the expectations of a well-maintained garden. The priority of this method is to blend in or match what your fellow gardeners are cultivating. However, featured in these portraits, the artist's mind prioritizes a different method. It is a method that seeks to value the native plants of the mind—personal traits and strengths. The goal of this gardener is to nurture the nuances of one’s own mind instead of replacing them. It’s here the garden evolves into something more beautiful and wild than any preplanned garden.
Victorian Symbolism
In this series of female portraits, I referenced Victorian symbolism to illustrate the mind as a garden. In creating the collection, I began by applying an oval silhouette with acrylic paint to mimic cameo jewelry. From there, the figure was sketched in with charcoal pencils. The floral hair is layered silkscreened flowers that were individually cut apart and collaged together. In choosing which flowers to include, I primarily referenced the Victorian language of flowers to create hair that symbolizes the mind of the artist. Each portrait is titled with a female name, also from the Victorian era.
The Language of Flowers
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Acanthus
The fine arts
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Lupine
Imagination (and possible portal to the fairy world)
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Dahlia
Elegance, inner strength, and change
Process & Presentation
Watch the making of Mind Blooms and the final installation.
Works on Panel, Paper, & Cement
Priscilla “Ancient” or “Venerable” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 11” x 14” x 1.5”
Luella “Elfin” or “Female Warrior” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 20” x 24” x 1.5”
Genevieve “Woman of the People” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 11” x 14” x 1.5”
Beatrice “Voyager” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 11” x 14” x 1.5”
Flossie "Flourishing" | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal with Vintage Frame | 12.5” x 19”
Agatha “Virtuous” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 8” x 10” x 1.5”
Mabel “Lovable” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal with Vintage Frame | 9” x 13”
Bud "Friend" | Aerosol Paint and Silkscreen on a Cement Plaque | 7.5” x 9”
Ivy “Faithfulness” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 8” x 10” x 1.5”
Arabella “Answered Prayer” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 8” x 10” x 1.5”
Flora “Flower” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 8” x 10” x 1.5”
Alexandra “The People’s Defender” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 8” x 10” x 1.5”
Eleanor "Bright" | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal with Vintage Frame | 12” x 15”
Marguerite “Pearl” | Acrylic Paint, Silkscreen, and Charcoal on Panel | 8” x 10” x 1.5”
Moving Art
Turning stop motion video into tangible artwork with a crank box and flipbooks.
Taking Mind Blooms Into the Third Dimension with
Cement Sculpture
Vlog Series
Weekly documentation of what it took to create the Mind Blooms show.