Botanical Imprinting

We live in a fast world which increases with speed every moment. Our eyes can feast upon anything we desire and when we tire we can shift gears with the simple motion of a swipe, or a tap, or scroll. An overflow of knowledge, clutter, inspiration, movement, constantly beckons at our door. We are shifting at such a rapid rate it can be difficult to see clearly as obstructions, thoughtless distractions are a consumer based community's best ally. 

Luckily this is not a singular dominant truth, there are more connective tissues being healed each day, more of us saying it is time to slow, recognizing the spinning world which engulfs the spirit while rejecting the lull of powerlessness. Mindfulness and presence are constantly showing up all around us, if we so choose to look deep into their loving eyes. 

As I deepen my personal practices with plants from ritual, growing, communicating, listening, harvesting, stewardship in all realms, I hear the chorus reverberate to slow, pay attention, be here now, growing louder and louder still. 

Communion. 

Working in a world of waste. An initiation to deepening awareness-

After witnessing the death of my maternal grandmother, her spirit fleeting under a warm amber thick like honey sunset, a breath in, a breath out, then an overwhelming surrender to the next incantation of her boundless energy, many gifts were placed within me, as death will do. One of the practices which called to me quickly after her departure was to utilize more than meets the eye in ways I had not yet explored. That there is abundant life after apparent death. 

Botanical imprinting became one path of the translation of this message. Gathering hundreds of flowers to be displayed around the woods as we celebrated the memories of a waking life, taken home where they filled counter-tops and shelves and desktops for weeks to come. Wilting, dropping petals, also surrendering gently to the next realm. Witnessing the transformation, the beauty in the negative spaces, the quiet parts that may not be noticed, a rotting zinnia, a copper tinged rose. Allowing my mind to see beyond what was in front of me, botanical voices whispered. By contorting the plant bodies in different ways, curing, steaming, burying, soaking, we can see the rainbow of color work which lies beneath the surface. Natural fibers lend themselves beautifully to this process as plants join in unison creating a new life form. The energetic properties of plants can be imprinted, transmuted, alchemized in an abundance of ways. As humans we lean into beauty, what catches our eyes and stifles our breath draws in asking for more. Pairing the feast of vision with what cannot be seen, botanical imprinting becomes a meditation of creation.  

By using materials which speak death (floral waste, food waste, fashion waste)  we are able to see life in more around us. In a fast waste culture this is important now more than ever. The slowing calls to every facet of our multi-sensory experience in this life. It is our absolute duty to consider how our actions impact many generations ahead while healing ourselves and if we can generations back. Consumerism is suffocating our planet, ourselves, so if we can move into new ways of being and working around what it is we create in abundance then discard without thought I believe we can open channels of deeper understanding. To connect with our actions and consumption in new ways. 

I am sharing a series of waste based botanical art classes each month, where we can learn and experience this transference of color and energy in unison. Community, creativity and cultivation of new awareness. 

Workshops listed under events for those who feel pulled into knowing more....