“COLORS AND THEMES ERUPT IN AN ENERGETICALLY CHARGED, CODED, AND PLAYFUL WAY ELICITING SOMETHING DEEP AND PRIMAL WITHIN. I WANT TO GIFT THE VIEWER A REMINDER OF VULNERABILITY AND INNOCENCE BRINGING THEM ALONG WITH ME ON THIS EXPERIENCE.”

This series was inspired partly by an adventure back into nature in Arizona.

I connected deeply with the majestic landscape and environment of plants on a short vacation in September 2020. I desperately needed to escape the fear and chaos of COVID and gratefully in this madness, I decided to hop on a plane to Los Angeles to visit a group of friends. We drove for a getaway weekend to visit another friend newly relocated to Arizona. My early morning hikes were with a ranger whose education into the native plants was instrumental to understanding the land from where the magic and inspiration of this energy within me started to emerge.

I came into contact with hundreds of-year-old Saguaro tree-like cacti that are native to the Sonoran Desert. Saguaros are protected and can live up to 200 years of age. The flower’s nocturnal maturation of pollen starts at sunset and is open for less than 24 hours. These plants are survivors. I identified with them being a survivor myself. They lived in the most extreme conditions and survived the harsh environment. The lesson learned was layered. The intent and channeling are metaphysical, along with the emotional memories of innocence long forgotten, and then this all becomes physical with paint on canvas.

A heightened state of awareness mystical in nature later in Los Angeles, allowed me to tap into this natural kingdom and other plant networks once again. In this experience, I felt and understood this deep interconnectedness and needed to communicate the feeling of this innocence, simplicity, and joy through my art.