07/18/2025
🌸 What an unforgettable experience! 🌸
This year, I had the honor of competing for the first time in the Botanical Arts Division at the 29th Annual Newport Flower Show, “A Floral Fair.” I’m thrilled to share I placed 2nd in my class: Beauty & the Beast! 🌹✨
Our prompt:
"This fairy tale touches on inner beauty. Outward appearances may deceive; true beauty lies within." – Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (1740)
The task: Create a rose using dried or pressed botanicals.
Our category was Form, challenging us to replicate a rose from plant material unrelated to roses - a creative stretch I loved! I dove into the original 1740 tale, the Disney classic, and the grandeur (and contradictions) of the Gilded Age. I wanted my piece to explore themes of knowledge, power, and illusions of wealth.
Inspired by the Golden Ratio & Fibonacci sequence, my design nods to mathematical harmony amid opulence masking inequality. I echoed the start of the sequence with:
1 rose head, 1 petal near falling, 2 leaves, 3 thorns, 5 sepals, 8 fallen petals.
Countless sketches, experiments, and late-night brainstorms later, I landed on this combination:
🌿Petals: Raphanus sativus (white radish)
🌿Leaves & Sepals: Ruscus aculeatus (butcher’s broom)
🌿Stem: Salix matsudana (willow) + Vitis vinifera (grapevine)
🌿Thorns: Syzygium aromaticum (clove)
My Statement of Intent:
"This golden ratio holds steady as illusions unravel. It reveals quiet resistance and speaks what opulence masks. The rose dies while we watch."
Grateful beyond words to my family, friends, partner, judges, and fellow competitors for your support and inspiration. This experience reminded me: if you don’t try, you’ll never know.
Here’s to creating beauty in unexpected places. 💛
