2021-2022 Poppies in a variety of mediums
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One of my favorite days in recent years was waking up to chase the sun as it rose over a poppy field in a neighboring county with two of my best friends. We’d heard about this place and drove to let the light slowly greet us while we were wrapped in blankets with our hands warmed by thermoses of coffee. It was early June of 2020, and we’d endured nearly three months of uncertainty as a world amidst a global pandemic. The blaringly temporal nature of the world forced so much into perspective; we had no idea that another year (and an additional year following) would unfold in a similar fashion, but being there with two people I love while the sun kissed both us and the poppies felt like maybe everything would be OK in a world that was proving to be far less than OK.
There are nearly 120 species of this spectacular twisted-stemmed flower. As a result, it appears as a symbol of cultural mythology around the world with meanings that include themes of sleep, dreams, imagination, sacrifice, remembrance, and regeneration. My favorite meaning: resilience. At its core, the word indicates capacity for recovery. Isn’t that where we find ourselves now, creeping up on two years later? To me it feels like we are a couple of friends with coffee that keeps our hands warm, chasing light in a Subaru that's headed towards a field of budding resilience.
I painted these in honor of us: for all we’ve endured, our capacity for recovery, and the hope yet to come.
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