What Blooms from the Wreckage

What Blooms in the Wreckage
2025
Sculptural Heavy-Bodied Acrylic, Resin, Alcohol Ink, Wire, and Wood
16" x 14" x 13"
 
 
Description
What Blooms in the Wreckage (2025) is a sculptural bouquet built from resilience, reinvention, and the quiet power of starting again. Rising from a hand-formed resin vase—its surface marbled with alcohol inks in swirling ocean blues—the arrangement bursts upward into a lush spray of dimensional blooms. Bright yellow florals, soft blush petals, deep crimson roses, and clusters of vivid blue blossoms unfold petal-by-petal, each one sculpted from heavy-bodied acrylics using custom piping and palette-knife techniques.
 
Resting on a concealed wooden support and strengthened with an internal wire armature, the piece marries engineering and artistry. Every curl, fold, and ridge of the paint catches the light, inviting the viewer to explore its many angles and discover new details in every glance.
 
Meaning & Concept
This work embraces the idea that beauty often grows from imperfect beginnings. The vase—intentionally crinkled, reshaped, and transformed—becomes a metaphor for the aftermath of rupture. What once appeared fractured now overflows with color, life, and unexpected softness. The flowers rise defiantly, echoing the truth that renewal doesn’t wait for ideal conditions; it thrives in the wreckage itself.
 
Materials & Technique
Created with sculptural Gaffrey-style acrylics, resin, alcohol inks, wire armature, and a wooden base, the piece merges structural craft with painterly expression. Each bloom is built through layered piping, shaping, and carving, while the vase form is cast, molded, and tinted to mimic the drama of folded glass or flowing fabric. The combination of materials gives the work depth, durability, and a uniquely tactile presence.
 
Display Notes
Because the sculpture is richly detailed from every side, it shines on a pedestal, console table, or display shelf, allowing viewers to walk around it. Soft directional lighting enhances the shadows, textures, and movement of the flowers, bringing out their beauty.
 
Artist’s Note
Sometimes it’s the broken places that bloom the brightest.