I was recently commissioned artwork for Columbia Memorial Hospital Clinic in Seaside, OR and since I love the idea of having nature related art in health care settings I was excited to work on this project. I created 25 botanical illustrations of native plants of the Pacific Northwest. The illustrations are mounted on 6” by 6” woodblocks arranged in a square 5 horizontally and 5 vertically, forming a three-dimentional mosaic. Each piece is completed in colored pencils on walnut ink stained background, with layers of protective wax on top. Each piece represents one native plant of our local area, I chose plants that have been used medicinally by Native People of this area. I love old world botanicals, so the walnut ink background I create mimics the old manuscripts a bit. The illustrations are vibrant in color and the subject matter ranges from trees, cones, flowers to berries. There will be text next to the botanical illustrations, explaining how each plant was used medicinally by Native People.
My family has always had a lot of artistic, linguistic and horticultural inclinations. I grew up in Poland and spent a lot of time in the garden or in the forest mushroom hunting or hiking with my parents. In Poland it is very common to use plants for healing purposes, from garlic to St. John’s wort, chamomile to horsetail. When I studied Art and International Studies at Pacific University, with focus on Indigenous Cultures of America, I became fascinated by history and culture of Native People and their use of plants for healing purposes.
I have worked on this commission since April, and I am happy it’s finally going to be installed in January, 2020. Non only creating art can be healing and therapeutic, but viewing and being surrounded by depictions of plants in a health care setting can be soothing and calming. The cyclical nature of plants remind us of human life cycle. Above all, nature and plants have amazing powers of regeneration, they give us hope for our own well-being. I feel happy that my botanical art of healing native plants will have a permanent home and assist people in healing and creating their own well being.
See more images for this commission under Native Plant Commission on this website.
My family has always had a lot of artistic, linguistic and horticultural inclinations. I grew up in Poland and spent a lot of time in the garden or in the forest mushroom hunting or hiking with my parents. In Poland it is very common to use plants for healing purposes, from garlic to St. John’s wort, chamomile to horsetail. When I studied Art and International Studies at Pacific University, with focus on Indigenous Cultures of America, I became fascinated by history and culture of Native People and their use of plants for healing purposes.
I have worked on this commission since April, and I am happy it’s finally going to be installed in January, 2020. Non only creating art can be healing and therapeutic, but viewing and being surrounded by depictions of plants in a health care setting can be soothing and calming. The cyclical nature of plants remind us of human life cycle. Above all, nature and plants have amazing powers of regeneration, they give us hope for our own well-being. I feel happy that my botanical art of healing native plants will have a permanent home and assist people in healing and creating their own well being.
See more images for this commission under Native Plant Commission on this website.
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