Inspired by Dutch still life paintings, and with a nod to romanticism, I set out to create a series of still life photographs with flowers from each season. Blooms, mostly grown in my garden, are used as a metaphor for a person, an expression, an intention.
With light coming in through a single window (in the kitchen or in my makeshift studio), I wanted to capture how light danced and changed through the day, and through the seasons. What began as a weekly practice to pause, to be present, to connect with nature became a meditation of sorts. Creating each still life (choosing a single bloom or a bouquet, the vessel in which it sits, the composition) became a comforting and joyful ritual amidst the heaviness around the world. I have intentionally photographed the blooms often searching, gazing towards the light, even in the moonlight - as an expression of hope. The series begins with a solitary bloom in the dark: an invitation to be still, to recalibrate. As you journey through the series, you will notice the incremental illumination of the flowers, guiding and transporting you into the joyous celebration of light. The infallible poise of a bloom: sure, steadfast, strong yet gloriously soft and gentle. This collection of blooms is above all, a celebration of flowers.
"Where flowers bloom, so does Hope" - Lady Bird Johnson
