“Gridded Hydrangea” has evolved from my earlier works using real flowers. In this piece I wanted to focus on the individual beauty of the petals while at the same time highlighting the strong presence of “multiples”. The grid comes from my affinity for organized containment. I feel it is a satisfying solution to the problem of displaying large numbers of objects as a group while keeping the autonomy of each individual, like you would find in an insect, mineral or other collection.

I received a gorgeous purple and blue hydrangea as a birthday gift, as the petals started to whither I pressed them, intending to enjoy them a little longer and for possible use in future projects. I was struck by how well they turned out, finding them even more beautiful and unique than before. I thought about how to use them individually or as parts of a wearable piece. While contemplating I noticed that no two petals were the same and each uniquely beautiful; I knew I had to have each petal displayed with equal importance.