coast thistle o1

30” x 30” . |. A V A I L A B L E | 2 0 2 0

This newly-completed wall sculpture is made from the hearts of a flowering shrub, local to the coastal grasslands of California, called the Globe Artichoke, or Coastal Thistle Cardoon. Before drying out in the hot summer months, this 6’ tall leafy plant blossoms in brilliant violet and blue. Once dry, brown, and hard, they wither into spiky, fuzzy, tufts, releasing seeds, like dandelions, into the breeze. They eventually fall apart, leaving behind beautifully detailed, concave, veined, almost petrified little cup-shaped vessels that fall to the ground. Most fascinating, Mother Nature tattooed these intricate, Fibonacci-like spiral dot patterns on the backs of each of these thistle hearts.Finding these on a walk through my canyon one day, my curiosity pulled me off the path into the dry, hot, rattlesnake territory (arghhhh!) so I could scoop one up, bring it home, run it through my “PlantSnap” app, and more thoroughly inspect it… eventually going back in long pants and boots with tongs, scissors, and a bit of bravery to collect about 100 more in 100F heat. Without being a naturalist or even very outdoorsy, moments like these, wandering in nature, discovering her little secrets, inspire me to try to elevate, appreciate, and redefine the seemingly ordinary into the extraordinary through my artwork.

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” - John Muir