America 250 The Independence Bouquet
By Kerstin Rao
As an artist who is a keen observer of nature, I challenged myself to put together a bouquet illustration that would celebrate America’s independent spirit and complicated history.
Capturing the red, white, and blue colors of our flag as it occurs in natural plants was one rule I set for myself. Another rule was to express my feelings of both pride and concern as an American citizen today.
With this ambition in mind, I traveled to a neighboring town’s wholesale flower shop. They have a large walk-in cooler where I saw florists and grocery shop owners alike, dressed in parkas, selecting blooms for their customers.
Note: The finished drawing will be revealed at the end...
RED
I wandered among the buckets, searching for the red roses that would anchor my bouquet, both for the bright red color and the presence of thorns.
Thorns represent the disagreement that is foundational to our country. Thorns can cause unexpected pain but they are also a defense to protect the vulnerable plant, giving it a chance to grow to maturity. Florists learn to respect and navigate the thorns, just as we citizens must do.
There were lush, Valentine’s Day style roses, but I was drawn to Rabelais Garden Spray Roses. I liked that they were clusters of various sizes with subtle variations in hue. To me, this type of flower represents citizens of all walks of life, plus it was much more interesting to draw. The clusters express that while we are different, reaching for the sun in our own ways, we are still branches from the same stem: humanity.
WHITE
Since I had chosen roses, an obvious flower for ‘Red,’ I wanted to be a bit less predictable for white. There was baby’s breath (too far in the Valentine’s Day direction) and daisies (didn’t want the yellow center) and white roses (not enough variety for an interesting bouquet.)
I came upon a swath of Cornflowers in white, and was immediately transported to fields where wildflowers pop up, sometimes in the forest, often along the sides of the highway. So much of my life’s adventures brought me past Cornflowers, which can be either cultivated or weeds.
When I looked them up, I realized they were not native to the U.S. but came from Europe, England, Ireland, Western Asia and are now naturalized here. How many of our families have travelled a similar path?
For Americans, I rather like that these flowers can be either cultivated or weeds. Both add value to our pathways. Cultivated choices elevate the spirit and express training. Weeds represent dogged resilience despite barriers, often rising through cracks in neglected areas. We clearly have both types of spirit which make our nation strong.
BLUE
Blue, of course, was the trickiest selection. There were artificially-dyed flowers among the buckets, but my goal was authenticity. My drawings take a minimum of 30 hours to create, and the time becomes a deep meditation on my subject. Only the real thing would do.
I found privet branches, with dangling clusters of tight, round berries. These struck me as visually interesting. In a way, it reminded me of living in New York City. I moved there after growing up in both the Twin Cities in Minnesota and then small towns in Kentucky - and I tell you, New York City was exciting and shocking to me. I had visions that the City would be cosmopolitan, open-minded, and welcoming, but I discovered that there is a deep tribal nature underlying the vast metropolis. People of like backgrounds, similar economic standing, and mindset tend to cluster together.
One fact I learned about privet berries - they are toxic! So, metaphorically, perhaps being clustered too tightly together is actually not ideal for humans to grow to their potential.
In spite of this new fact, these berries also reminded me of tiny wild blueberries in Maine and brought feelings of summertime wandering in the forests and bogs. My husband and I go blueberry picking in June here in Connecticut. I like the idea that America still has gorgeous wilderness which can literally nourish us. We want to preserve our wild, beautiful spaces for future generations to enjoy.
FIREWORKS
Satisfied with my red, white, and blue flower choices, I turned to leave the cold storage room. My fingers were chilled and I was eager to bring the bouquet back to my easel. Then I spotted a wildly delightful finishing touch: Allium.
Allium looks just like fireworks!
Even fireworks have complicated associations. On the one hand, they bring to mind Fourth of July picnics and concerts. But the choice of fireworks was originally intended to remind us of battlefield dangers and the sacrifices that defenders of America made over many years.
To me, topping my bouquet with these allium fireworks is joyful and spirited.
NATURAL RESILIENCE OF AMERICANS
When looked at all together, with all my choices and feelings woven throughout it, ‘Independence Bouquet’ speaks to the fact that we are stronger, more interesting, more complicated, and more resilient as a nation when we stand together.
Facing our history honestly, making amends as we can, being more attentive to many points of view as we plot our forward course, all of this requires the belief that life is better, we are stronger, and there is more hope for the future of our nation when we pull together.
Great idea and execution!
What a gorgeous grouping of patrotic flowers. I love how you went about choosing each flower by thinking about what it could represent. The finished painting is absolutely stunning! Well done!!