When I look at something, anything, I feel its beauty and its passing in the same breath. It's a way of seeing that I didn't choose, both a blessing and a curse. But perhaps it's what makes each moment feel so precious.

And so it is with flowers. My botanical work studies both the fullness of the bloom and the wilting that follows, with its curling petals and waning color. I find the wilting just as beautiful as the bloom, if not more so, and I hope to honor the grace and dignity in that slow passing.

This is the beginning of a new body of work, the next chapter of a botanical series I started back in 2015. I’ll share more from this series as it grows..

Mel