In June of 2019, to my utter surprise and delight, my proposal was selected to move to the next round of the submission process for the U.S. Botanic Garden Exhibition “It’s Hip to be Square: The Mint Family.” I had a good reason to be anxious proceeding to this next phase. I have experience drawing and painting but the extent of my sculpting experience is making neon colored playdough figurines with my kids. I had one month to make a vessel out of porous terra cotta clay no bigger than eight inches in any direction that could hold water and was striated to grow Chia.
The series of paintings that were ultimately installed in the new Pike and Rose development in North Bethesda, Maryland started with a “one shot” opportunity. In the fall of 2016, after two and half years of not painting, I was anxious to get back to my brushes, a sentiment I had shared with my friend and mentor David Freeberg on a visit to his shop A&D Custom Framing.
