A Place To Mourn 2021

May 27th - June 18th, 2021

As the death toll from the pandemic increased to unimaginable numbers, I found myself unable to work as a studio artist; I was emotionally overwhelmed. One evening while watching a special report on the PBS Newshour, one of the doctors interviewed explained the massive losses the world was dealing with; the enormity of the grief that humanity was trying to cope with. I remember writing down these words that he said:

“We will need places to mourn.”

I decided I would create floral memorials in my hometown to honor our community’s need to pause, reflect and grieve our collective losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. My first installation, “A Place to Mourn, was self-funded ($800) and completed in May 2021 in my own NE Olympia neighborhood. The site location was outdoors, on a friend’s property, and near a street with high foot traffic. Fresh flowers were attached and wrapped around a stone sculpture. Garlands were hung in a circle from a huge walnut tree encircling a bench for visitors to sit, write in a journal, read a poem, and light a candle. The fresh flowers lasted 26 days, and the community members were overwhelmingly moved by the gift, gesture, and installation.