Cocktails and comfort zones
In our climate and work, Winter is a time for rest, reconnection and computer work. This season contains a devastating lack of flowers and warm weather, so I am living through images from before. Today, revisiting this shoot from some time ago, I am feeling immense gratitude for the artists and community being a flower farmer and florist has brought into my life. People who will share their art and resources, laugh, share ideas, work their butts off, collaborate and not compete. In the face of the heartbreaking fires in LA and the existential threat of climate change, I have been thinking a lot about the people around me who we will rely on as these events continue to dominate our lives.
People like our model, Des, who agreed to put herself in the very vulnerable position of being in front of a camera and sharing her whole self in this project. Des is an incredible fellow Moabite: plant lover, business owner, maker of the most amazing baked goods and tea blends and new human mama. You can feel her warmth and creativity in these images.
This shoot was a collaboration with Emily Klarer Photography. I have been so fortunate to know Emily for over a decade and watch her art evolve. The way she can tell a story with images and help people feel comfortable is hard to even put into words. I am inspired and grateful that our flowers get to be on the other side of her lens. Or I should say lenses.. Emily shows up to a project with a silly number of cameras :)
Revisiting these is not only providing gratitude for community, but also reminding me of the importance of creating just to create. No agenda, no real plan and no expectations. The political slogan “we need bread and roses too” comes to mind. This was a sunny October day when the dahlias were still cranking, but no one was buying the hot pink ones. So I harvested them all, we got together one afternoon during the busy season, had some cocktails and made some art just to do it. I will always come back to these images to feel that inspiration, gratitude and warmth.
