A new exhibit at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens celebrating the University of Michigan peony garden centennial opens tomorrow, May 21. I'm pleased to have a painting in it.

The exhibit shows work from 30 artists in the community—all considering the perception of time, especially in the context of nature.

In 2019, I showed my work for the first time ever with a solo exhibition of 40 paintings at Matthaei. It was one of the best experiences of my life for many reasons. The Gardens are a beautiful spot that I'm thankful to have right here in my town.

The peony garden at Nichols Arboretum is home to nearly 800 peonies with more than 10,000 flowers open when at peak bloom—it's definitely worth taking the time to see if you can make it to Ann Arbor in the next month.

The exhibit runs May 21 - June 26 and admission is free.

This new growth suits me,
this green light behind my eyes,
these leaves in my hair.

View up close in the gallery.

In small living things
weight is carried like air,
in sky and water.

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View up close in the gallery.

It is March—finally nearing spring—though it still feels like the middle of winter in Michigan with snow, ice, and bitter winds most every day lately. One day this past week though I had a mourning dove just outside my window at dusk making his call. It was so loud it startled me—I heard him before I saw him. He kept at it for a few minutes, eyeing me as I peeked through the blinds. The next morning he was out there again (or, had been out there all night sleeping), balanced on a rail. This time at least the rising sun was just starting to shine on him. His soft grayish brown body looked like velvet, his chest puffed out against the cold. Watching me again as I peeked out at him he made a small step sideways.

I’ve read about mourning doves and know they can fly incredibly fast and straight, but that morning he was still and silent as the sun rose, his instincts telling him things will change soon. My thought was to write a poem for him: the tiny bones of his ribcage that create the space for air to pass through as he practices his call to find the mate that hasn’t arrived yet and has no awareness that he is on this balcony, calling to the setting sun.

To me, every small living thing represents this kind of mystery and majesty. A whole complex life that we can observe and document but really only guess as to what it feels like to live it.

Photos taken from inside the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. My exhibit there continues until March 24, 2019.

New snow fills the field.
The warm observatory,
full of mystery.

Full of mystery,
a life lived underwater,
koi like orange silk.

Koi like orange silk,
float like the dark Milky Way,
a soft universe.

A soft universe,
like a calm yet wild creature,
new snow fills the field.

The conservatory is a transformative place. Cold winter days are the perfect time to visit and get rejuvenated…and while you’re there, take a look at my exhibit of 40 paintings, The Mind Bloom.

University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens

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The fish.

On display in The Mind Bloom exhibit at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens.

View up close in the gallery.

I've been asked to exhibit 40 paintings at the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor, MI. Titled, "The Mind Bloom," this exhibit runs from January 12 - March 24, 2019.

The UM Matthaei Botanical Gardens has been one of my favorite places to visit for as long as I can remember. It represents thriving life and possibility. I am thankful to have this exhibit of my work in a place that is so meaningful to me.

The paintings in this exhibit were made over the past couple of years. I worked on them just about every day, in the morning or at night. Over time, the confluence of ideas that the paintings and words represented became familiar and connected. Themes and interests repeated and were deepened through my daily exploration.

Titling the exhibit, “The Mind Bloom”, after a specific painting in the collection, seemed like the perfect expression of this work. Always inspired by nature, and combined with thought, memory, poetry, feeling—truly a bloom that is full of vigor and charged with all of the possibility of being alive every day.

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University of Michigan
Matthaei Botanical Gardens
1800 N. Dixboro Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48105

The Mind Bloom Exhibit
January 12 – March 24, 2019
Daily 10 am - 4:30 pm
Wednesdays until 8 pm
Free admission

https://mbgna.umich.edu/event/the-mind-bloom/