Hi There,
This was a very spontaneous collection. Usually, our collections are more planned out, but I had a creative itch, got on a roll, and decided to make a little mini collection. I actually got Cranfield inks for my birthday, which I had been wanting to try, and was amazed by the quality and the beautiful gradients. So, I designed, carved, and printed this entire collection in a matter of a few days.
I’ve been wanting to talk and share more about my thought processes when creating because I really enjoy finding deeper meanings in things, and if someone else does too, I want to encourage that and share mine. I love when you guys bring your own meaning and connections to the work, so consider this a peek into what these pieces mean to me; not the only way they can be seen.
Strange Things Are Blooming genuinely started with me wanting to play around with my new ink and just create. Often, I don't come up with the meaning, or even the name of a collection, until after it's done. The meaning just comes along as I create.
I began with the idea of changing perspective; taking something familiar and shifting its role into something unexpected. A head becomes a vase, with flowers blooming from it, as another way of thinking about the mind and what we choose to let grow in it. A fish starts as a decorative element on a vase, but then the fish is the vase, changing its relationship to the flowers and vase.
The more I played with these shifts in perspective, the more I started thinking about how we look at ourselves and our own lives. How powerful it can be to change the way we see something, and how changing our perspective can change what we believe is possible. What do we nurture in our lives? What role do we choose to play? Are we the decorative element on someone else's vase?
It's important that we take the time, in our fast-paced lives, to ask ourselves these questions. Because sometimes we forget that it simply is our life. You decide what gets to bloom.
♡ Bella
Strange Things are Blooming - Limited Print Collection
