Fire-Flowers, 2020-2022
Fire-Flowers by Emily Pauline Johnson (1861-1913)
And only where the forest fires have sped,
Scorching relentlessly the cool north lands,
A sweet wild flower lifts its purple head,
And, like some gentle spirit sorrow-fed,
It hides the scars with almost human hands.
And only to the heart that knows of grief,
Of desolating fire, of human pain,
There comes some purifying sweet belief,
Some fellow-feeling beautiful, if brief.
And life revives, and blossoms once again
Fires, flowers, and natural landscapes have drawn me in. For their beauty, intensity, and how quickly they change over time. This series was made using gouache paint, pigment prints on handmade paper, with dried flowers, fabric, and sometimes burned paper embedded into the paper. The pieces are completed with encaustic (bees wax and natural resin). They are mounted on cradled boards. Each is entirely unique.
