Why paint flowers?
Depending on how you found me, you may already know that I make a range of work, with one of my focuses being on social justice. You might be wondering, how is floral painting connected to social justice?
I write about this in a general way in my artist statement, and I may write a longer blog on this topic in the future, but for now:
Both floral painting and social justice work are about life, connectivity and abundance … the desire and right of all living things and beings, including all humans, to live freely exactly as we are. For all of us to be free to just enjoy our time on this beautiful planet. Which, in practice, requires all of our needs being met. Which, in turn, takes a collective commitment to social justice on personal, cultural and institutional levels.
So, these two things (floral painting and social justice work) come from the same part of me, the part of me that wants to fight for and celebrate life in all of its expressions.
Also, the longer I’m around, the more I realize that (for me) life is about the the tension between -working towards what needs changing- and -simply celebrating what is already great-. My hope is that my art practice can always hold this tension, in whatever shape it takes.
Finally, on a community level, I am working on an indigenous land reparations model that will tie concretely to my floral work. This is in process, and I’ll write more about it when it is launched. For now, check out the work of the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy.