PlantCestors III

2022
Collages
Collage with Linoleum Block and Photo Transfer Elements on Cotton Rag Paper.
15 x 11.25 inches

This print is part of a series of small works that honors my Plant-Cestors. The way that I define the concept of “PlantCestor” is as a portal - by growing and connecting with my plants in my home, I am able to connect to the power and the wisdom of nature's intelligence, and that creates a window for me to also be in touch with my ancestors in a very embodied way.

Growing plants for me is a continuation of the love for plants that my father passed on to me when he was alive. Growing plants is a way for me to disrupt and resist the oppressive, polluted concrete jungle that I grew up in, and repair my relationship to the living world.

Through these collages, I'm celebrating the plants in my life and acknowledging their wisdom and the way they have transformed my life. This series is about the many different personalities that my PlantCestors embody.

I had a lot of fun with this playful series as I was remixing some of my different plant and leaf designs that I've been using over the last few years and blending them with my patterns to make each portrait highly expressive. Each still life captures a different area in my home.