Preserving Memories: Art from Flowers
How bouquets from loved ones inspired a new artistic exploration.
On March 12th, 2020, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My life frequently moves at warp speed, and once Covid hit, things came to a screeching halt. With my cancer diagnosis, I was now frozen, teetering on the edge of a cliff. Thankfully, I had a few people who could pull me back to safety. My cousin, Carolyn, a nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering, was my first call. My other cousin Liz, a breast cancer survivor, was my second lifeline. With their guidance, I found a care team and began to make sense of my diagnosis.
The world was in lockdown, and we were isolated at home yet more virtually connected than ever through FaceTime and Zoom calls with friends, family, and colleagues. Word of my illness spread quickly. Soon, our home was filled with dozens of bouquets—vibrant but fleeting tokens of affection and encouragement that would soon wilt and die. I wanted to permanently commemorate these gestures of love, so I began experimenting with using the pigment from petals and leaves to create rainbow-hued floral "paintings."
These floral paintings led to a collection that will forever connect me back to that time.
Today, I continue to use this method of “painting” with flowers with my daughter, Carolina. Collecting fallen petals and blooms is a fun way to pause and appreciate patches of nature in our concrete jungle.
We often walk across Park Avenue, and this year, we marveled at the tulips planted in the Park Avenue Malls. They are Gudoshnik Double Tulips that open like peonies. The bulbs were selected by The Fund for Park Avenue to commemorate the 400th anniversary of New York's founding by Dutch colonists. Their heavy heads are beginning to fall, making it the perfect time of year to collect petals and explore the ancient artistic tradition of painting with natural pigments.
Our ancestors harnessed colors from their surroundings long before synthetic paints were manufactured. Cave walls were adorned with mineral pigments, animal blood, and charred bones. During the Pre-Raphaelite era, painters used mummy brown, a hue actually derived from ground-up mummies (of humans and cats.) In his masterpiece, Starry Night, Van Gogh painted stars with yellow pigment made from the urine of cows fed a diet of mango leaves. “Paint” likely surrounds you, hidden in coffee, red wine, turmeric, or dark berries.
Last week, Carolina and I spent an afternoon in Central Park collecting flower petals and greenery. Back home, we made several paintings with the foliage, creating both art and a time capsule of our day together. It’s a great way to connect with your kid (or yourself!) and spend time in nature.
If you want to give this a try, here’s what you’ll need:
Flower petals and leaves
Watercolor Paper
Paper towel or newspaper to protect the surface of your table.
Optional: Painter’s Tape, Ball Jar Canning Rings, Stencils, Pencil
Step 1
Collect flower petals from a bouquet or from nature. Yellow daffodils, grass, tulip petals, alstroemeria, and hydrangea petals work well. Anthers make excellent "paint," but they stain, so be mindful of your clothing and work surface. Also, respect the landscape and collect blooms that have dropped to the ground, or choose flowers from weeds like dandelions.
Step 2
Cover your work surface with a paper towel or newspaper. Organize the flowers by colors and spread them out so you can see what you have. Lay your paper in the center of your workspace. Any thick paper can work, but watercolor paper is best because it absorbs moisture, and its texture captures pigment well.
Step 3
Crumple petals or greens in your fingers, rolling them into balls and squeezing them to activate the color. (This step is not necessary with anthers.)
Step 4
Create a freehand drawing or be inspired by these ideas:
Use painter's tape to create a “frame”. Make your painting, and allow it to dry. Remove the tape to reveal the crisp edges.
Use metal rings from Ball canning jars for a round frame.
Use stencils or shapes cut from cardboard.
Step 5
Allow your painting to dry for a few hours or overnight. Use a pencil (it will never fade) to identify where the blooms came from, or write a reflection and add the date.
Have you ever used flowers to create art before? Tell us more in the comments.
PS: Today, I’m grateful to be cancer-free and encourage all women to get their mammograms—early and annually. Regular screenings saved my life. If I had put off my appointment, I likely would have been diagnosed at least a year later. I can’t imagine what the repercussions of that delay may have been.
Photo of the Week
The best vantage point of the Queensboro Bridge is one you never wish to see—through the windows of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I took this photo in July 2020 while watching cable cars cross the East River, distracting myself as I waited for my name to be called for surgery.
The Roosevelt Island tram opened in May 1976. It was initially a temporary solution to transport residents to the island while the subway stop was under construction. It has continued operating ever since. The 5-minute ride only costs a Metrocard swipe, and the views are incredible.
Board the tram on 2nd Avenue between 59th and 60th streets and make a beeline for one of the coveted bench seats along the western windows. Once you get to Roosevelt Island, you can take in the views from the rooftop bar at Graduate, grab a coffee or hot chocolate at Starbucks, or take a stroll to Four Freedoms Park, passing the abandoned Smallpox Hospital along the way.
Consider experiencing the skyline from the water and returning via the ferry (a $4 ride).
Words of the Week
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
-Albert Einstein
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Lia - thank you for your beautiful words and for sharing your story of heartache...and resilience. It touched my soul. My blessings and thoughts are with you. Peace.