A Change in Perspective

Sea Nettle/Growing Old

A photograph of a Mexican bird of paradise.

“The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”

- W.B. Yeats

I find this such a fitting thought for dried flowers. I feel that flowers have been waiting and waiting for our senses to grow sharper and take a look at them once their original beauty has faded. 

My parents have two big beautiful Mexican bird of paradise shrubs in their front yard and I always love when they are in full bloom. They are rich with yellows, oranges, and bright reds (and as a bonus, they attract butterflies and hummingbirds!) The last time their shrub was in bloom I took a few of the flowers to dry and photograph. The individual flowers are relatively small but, I really wanted to see what they would look like dried. 

This beautiful flower dried in just the way that I had hoped it would. The stamen of the Mexican bird of paradise stayed intact, which can be very delicate, and I worried that they might break off. I feel like with this flower that the stamen made such a huge impact to this image. I photographed this flower in a few different ways and it always amazes me how if you just turn the flower, or turn the camera, how you can end up with a totally different image and what that image can evoke. With this image, I was struck with the feeling of a jellyfish! I love how you can obviously tell that this is a flower, however, it can take you to another place.

I use these little changes of perspective to remind myself that there are little changes of perspective to be had all over the place. What can I look at differently today?

Growing Old Series Origins

The Golden Knot/Growing Old

A photograph of a dried tulip.

I don't know about you but when I was younger always kept flowers from special occasions. I would hang them up in my room and treasure those memories. I guess, even then, I hated the idea of these beautiful flowers just going to the trash, so instead, I kept them.

I started the series Growing Old while I was in school in San Francisco. I was spending hours alone in my studio photographing flowers and found that yet again I couldn't bear to get rid of them, so, they kept me company. I knew that these flowers had so much more life in them even after they had officially died.

I had many different types of flowers hanging up to dry in my little studio but one of my favorite flowers to dry was tulips. Tulips are so interesting just in general and to watch them over a whole lifespan is amazing. When I would purchase tulips in the morning they were closed and after being in my studio for awhile the petals would start to open up. After having them for a day or two they would start to droop and then I would hang them up. As you can see, the petals took on a life of their own! Some petals would be spread open wide, while others would almost tangle themselves in a knot. I loved the unique shapes that they created.

I kept many of these dried flowers through our moving from the Bay Area down to Phoenix. I was entirely amazed at how well the flowers stayed together throughout our many moves when we arrived here in Phoenix. After years of delicately moving them from one place to another and having two children, it was time to say goodbye to the box that held all of these precious petals. I do still collect and dry flowers but now once I photograph them I allow myself to let go of them and keep my space, both mentally and physically, clear.

Fluttering Kimono/Growing Old

A photograph of a dried tulip.