In the summer of 2012, I was out for a hike at one of my favorite places: the Black Balsam/Sam’s Knob area of the Blue Ridge Parkway. As I took in the beauty of the wildflowers and grasses, I noticed a patch of flowers that was unfamiliar to me- Roan Mountain Goldenrod. Shorter and of a different shape than the goldenrod commonly seen in fields in the summer, I was curious to understand its particular energy and character. I entered the patch of short purple-hued stalks and rich yellow petals and sat down to meditate.

During that meditation, this variety of goldenrod gave me the vision for this project: a large scale, collaborative body of work meant to illustrate plant spirit medicine.

Fellow collaborators chose the setting, pose, action, composition, and costume for the plant. I photographed them in the setting of their choice (often with the physical plant in its natural habitat) and then I painted the visions they wanted to convey. Participants could act out their own experiences or connections with their chosen plant, or visually illustrate the archetype the plant represented for them, finding creative ways to personify the transformative energy. After working with each subject through this process, I would then create paintings to document and illuminate their vision. A few of the participants submitted photographs they took themselves for me to work from.

I asked each participant to give me a short explanation of their inspiration for the work, and you will find those on under each painting.

This project was awarded a grant from Toe River Arts Council to help offset some of the material costs.

I continue to paint new work for this series and plan to keep working on it for a long time to come!