I Picked You A Flower is a group exhibition I participated in at the beginning of 2020. Refer to my post on December 19th for more details. Inspired by the theme of the exhibition and my love of plants and color, I focused on the tradition of using flowers to communicate, and the specific meanings attributed to them. The quote below from an 1852 book gave me a place to start my self-portraiture exploration. My goal with this flower and color combo was to express feelings of obsession and intensity.

“In the East, the Tulip is employed as the emblem by which a lover makes known his passion to his mistress; as the Tulip expresses the idea that he has a face all fire and a heart all coal.”

Dumont, Henrietta. The Floral Offering: A Token of Affection and Esteem; Comprising the Language and Poetry of Flowers. H. C. Peck & Theo Bliss., 1852.