LAUREN NAOMI | STREAMING MOODS

Hand-sculpted, painted roses on canvas, 2021. 36 x 60 inches.

A fourth-generation floral crafter, the subject matter must be genetically imbued!  Dating back to the time of my Sicilian great-grandmother, she and my grandmother embroidered flowers and hand-crafted bouquets out of various papers, a tradition still carried on by my Sicilian aunt.  A third-generation gardener, my maternal grandmother said that she was most recognizable by her backside, as she was so often bending down, her hands gloveless in the dirt, digging, pruning, weeding and whispering to her flowers.  My mother has carried on the tradition as I can attest, the vision of her own backside drawn high up against the summer sun emblazoned forever in my memory as I follow suit, dig gloveless and do the same.