The first physical installment of Botanical Readiness at GAG (Garden Apartment Gallery), March 7—April 3, Chicago

Info and documentation

Each: 2026, watercolor, gouache and flasche on paper, 12" x 12"

A visit to my parents' home town in Sicily to celebrate my aunt's 80th birthday. A place where I have never visited in the early moments of spring. The trip was filled with a crisp chill in the air and so much green. And it ended with witnessing military equipment being moved through the island. The US has a military base on the island. The war was much more palpable on the island than in the states.

Nondimension

I am inspired by studies of tarot and Jewish mysticism, specifically the 13th century Kabbalistic text, The Zohar. I often work from ideas at the intersection of tarot and mysticism. I am interested in their storytelling component and the belief that nothing is static or fixed. These studies inform recent work that considers women, aging, and (frequently) the body. "Garment of Days" originates from a concept in the Zohar positing that we daily create or undo a garment for the soul. In my work, I reimagine this concept with a feminist twist by considering how women might imagine this changing garment as they age.

Each: mixed media on photograph, 8.5"x11"

About ten years ago I made a series of work based on a willow tree at Pratt Beach. The tree eventually grew too heavy and split in two, sprouting copious seedlings.
 

1957
Source: British Pathé Archives

Matis (aka Greyout)
featuring Rattlesnake Plant

Dir. Margaret Thomson, 1942, BFI instructional film

Green Brain poem [pdf]

Everything grows incredibly fast, gets overgrown, rots, molds, regrows. Plants that you think of as houseplants just grow outside in the ground. There's a lot of snakes.

This year we had several days of unusually cold freezing temperatures and a lot of plants were damaged or killed by the cold.
 

The bananas usually continue growing over the winter months. Unripe bananas will stay green and ripen when warm weather returns. New trees are call "pups" and usually grow alongside the older trees. This year all of the bananas froze and died. These started growing around late February and are taller than me now. They'll probably have fruit in late summer, but it takes several months for the bananas to ripen.
 

I thought this Guava tree was killed by the freeze, but it started growing new sprouts from the ground. It's more of a bush now. Rats or squirrels usually eat most of the Guavas before they can get ripe.
 

This Sea Grape was frozen and mostly died back. I cut off the old branches and its growing back super fast. It's a native plant that protects beaches from erosion.
 

A few years ago I planted a sweet potato from the store. They're growing all over now. This will be my survival food when society collapses.
 

I've been completely neglecting these Dragon Fruit vines. They've been in the same plastic box since I started them from cuttings, about five years ago. There are six different varieties, but I don't remember which they are. I just dumped them out on the ground and they seem to be thriving now.
 

Last summer the lawn mowing guy ran over these valves for the pool and caused a minor disaster. I put a brick border and garden around it so he probably won't do it again... Marigold, Zinnia, Verbena, Alyssum, Georgia Onions, Pineapple...
 

You can grow new fig trees from cuttings. They have some new roots after about a month in water. Also some oregano sprigs.
 

Poison Ivy growing by the canal behind our house. I got a bad rash two times. It spreads to different areas on your skin. It's not really itchy, but painful and burning.

INSPIRATION
Throw Yourself Like Seeds
by Miguel de Unamuno
Translation by Robert Bly