we are all living in the garden, 2021

installation created as ESMOA LAB artist-in-residence

“Attention is the beginning of devotion” – Mary Oliver
Eucalyptus leaves from a sidewalk tree, redwood cones from the forest floor, fallen jacaranda blooms from the street, acorns from the side of a trail, bougainvillea from a neighbor’s garden…all gathered together here as if blown in from all directions north, south, east, and west in California. There was one leaf in the installation was not purposefully brought in to be installed—it blew in off the street and so was given its place in the piece.

in the studio / on the hill

exhibited at ESMOA as part of we are all living in the garden
installation created as ESMOA LAB artist-in-residence, 2021

All flora depicted in these two photographs were foraged on the streets and hillsides of Los Angeles – with the exception of a single flower, itself a representative from the California cut flower trade.
The light box on the left, “in the studio”, evokes Dutch Master still-life paintings, with a mix of native and naturalized flowers and fruit co-existing in harmony. The light box on the right, “on the hill”, posits a grouping that on first glance could conceivably pop up on a mustard-covered hillside, but on closer inspection, the agave flower stalk without the agave plant, the tropical bananas, the lone silver palm leaf give it away…

The Flora of the Free Republic
(selected cards shown)

exhibited as part of we are all living in the garden, 2021
installation as ESMOA LAB artist-in-residence

A mash-up between National Parks guides and collectible trading cards, these cards were available to be taken by the public and are the entry point to an online catalog of California flora—native, naturalized, invasive, adopted. This online catalog was updated and added to through the course of the exhibition.

The Stone, the River, the Door

Public art commission for mixed-use development in downtown Azusa

An arched doorway acting as a passage through time, a portal. Drawing inspiration from the history of the area and the name of the development “The Orchard”, it evokes walking under a grove of orange trees, while also telling of the native plants that came before the cultivated fields.

The Stone, the River, the Door

Public art commission for mixed-use development in downtown Azusa

An arched doorway acting as a passage through time, a portal. Drawing inspiration from the history of the area and the name of the development “The Orchard”, it evokes walking under a grove of orange trees, while also telling of the native plants that came before the cultivated fields.

The Stone, the River, the Door

Public art commission for mixed-use development in downtown Azusa

An arched doorway acting as a passage through time, a portal. Drawing inspiration from the history of the area and the name of the development “The Orchard”, it evokes walking under a grove of orange trees, while also telling of the native plants that came before the cultivated fields.

Flowers for Schindler
MAK Center, 2021

Temporary installation celebrating the 99th anniversary of the Schindler House. I drew inspiration from the Schindler House itself, with its pinwheel plan, connecting indoors to outdoors, and four rooms, “one for each person to ‘express his or her individuality’” but coming together to create a whole. Flowers for Schindler is a modular floral installation with four spatial volumes that can be placed in different configurations. It uses industrial materials to unexpected effect. The flowers are meant to evoke a wildflower meadow, in dialogue with the rows of flowing grasses planted outside the house. Within the flowers, poppy and nigella pods, marigolds, grasses, sages, dried and bleached botanicals echo each other; a bit of outside transported inside.

Flowers for SchindlerMAK Center, 2021
Temporary installation celebrating the 99th anniversary of the Schindler House. I drew inspiration from the Schindler House itself, with its pinwheel plan, connecting indoors to outdoors, and four rooms, “one for each person to ‘express his or her individuality’” but coming together to create a whole. Flowers for Schindler is a modular floral installation with four spatial volumes that can be placed in different configurations. It uses industrial materials to unexpected effect. The flowers are meant to evoke a wildflower meadow, in dialogue with the rows of flowing grasses planted outside the house. Within the flowers, poppy and nigella pods, marigolds, grasses, sages, dried and bleached botanicals echo each other; a bit of outside transported inside.

Garden Party installation at Days / 2019 / photo by Nora Beckman

Upstairs in an old brick building, I created a secret garden for all the senses, flowers to smell and touch and eat. The most fragrant tuberose, freesia, sweet peas, hyacinth. Weird enormous seed pods, ghostly moss, and gesturing branches. Velvety geranium leaves and lavender, sticky rosemary. Amongst the flowers were pieces of flower stories: etymologies, myths, scientific facts. An immersive installation that was part Alice-in-Wonderland (flowers that said “Eat me” “Smell me” “Touch me”), part biology lesson, part history lesson.

Garden Party installation at Days / 2019

Upstairs in an old brick building, I created a secret garden for all the senses, flowers to smell and touch and eat. The most fragrant tuberose, freesia, sweet peas, hyacinth. Weird enormous seed pods, ghostly moss, and gesturing branches. Velvety geranium leaves and lavender, sticky rosemary. Amongst the flowers were pieces of flower stories: etymologies, myths, scientific facts. An immersive installation that was part Alice-in-Wonderland (flowers that said “Eat me” “Smell me” “Touch me”), part biology lesson, part history lesson.

Garden Party installation at Days / 2019 / photo by Nora Beckman

Upstairs in an old brick building, I created a secret garden for all the senses, flowers to smell and touch and eat. The most fragrant tuberose, freesia, sweet peas, hyacinth. Weird enormous seed pods, ghostly moss, and gesturing branches. Velvety geranium leaves and lavender, sticky rosemary. Amongst the flowers were pieces of flower stories: etymologies, myths, scientific facts. An immersive installation that was part Alice-in-Wonderland (flowers that said “Eat me” “Smell me” “Touch me”), part biology lesson, part history lesson.

Annum Flora

Public art commission for mixed-use development in downtown Azusa (Projected completion: 2024)

The mural is a scrolling landscape, depicting the four seasons in Southern California as expressed through its plant life.

The plant life depicted will be a mix of local flora: native plants indigenous to the Azusa area as well as naturalized plants that have adapted to our climate and have become part of the visual and historical image of this region.

Meadow/Moon installation at LA Design Festival / 2017

Flower Clock in Culver City / 2017

Myth of Narcissus at Otherwild as Window Artist-in-Residence Winter 2019/2020

I was selected as Otherwild’s Window Artist in Residence for 2020-21. The overarching theme was the memento mori, still life paintings that speak to the temporality of the world.

The first iteration was meant to evoke winter in Southern California - a contradiction of lush greenery and fruit with autumnal branches and ice-toned dried botanicals.

The second iteration plays on the myth of Narcissus. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter who was known for his beauty. He rejected all romantic advances, eventually falling in lvoe with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to possess or part from the object of his desire, he came undone, and in his place sprouted a flower bearing his name.