The Journey to Music x Flowers

“Our people have always been lovers of music and flowers.” - Bessie Weaver

Let’s start from the beginning.

A few months after “Black Flora” was published, two featured artists (Abra Lee and Talia Boone) reached out asking if I’d participate in an event called Music x Flowers. The intention was to showcase Black floral artists through immersive experiences inspired by Los Angeles music & culture. Bringing Blackness into a botanical garden, a space we were rarely celebrated, was pretty iconic. I read over the email multiple times overwhelmed with feelings of excitement, fear and gratitude. This was my chance — not only to challenge myself creatively, but also be in community with other Black floral designers. I responded with a resounding yes.

Since discovering my creative gift, this would be the first time sharing my art in real life and working within the confines of someone else’s overarching vision. That presented obstacles to my creative process. Up until this point, I had worked on my own timeline and only when creatively inspired by a certain plant or flower with the idea evolving in real-time as I created it. Now I had to develop a vision for the final product and figure out how to make it reality. I was crippled by the thought of sharing my very specific ideas with others and the commitment that came with it. The thing about working with live flowers is that nothing is guaranteed from floral inventory to weather conditions. I knew I had the vision, I had been studying the craft and all I needed was that final bit of confidence that I could deliver the image in my head. With that in mind, I dove into refining the things I could control like time management, flawless construction and compelling storytelling.

For months, I created concepts and sketched and prototyped considering the need for more planning, durability and attention to detail. I was inspired by my own artistic range after sketching, designing and sculpting consistently. For years, I longed to find my lane. Was I meant to be a musician, painter, etc.? It wasn’t until randomly stumbling upon this form of expression that blended my interests, like flowers and fashion, that I realized I didn't need those labels to exist as the artist I was destined to be. My artistic expression is not bound to a particular medium.

It was clear after a while that this process spanned beyond creative growth and influenced my personal development too. The inner work strengthening my artistic work. The creative epiphanies and shadow work propelled me. I had unwavering faith, and certainty that my participation in this experience was divinely orchestrated. Failure was impossible.

I’ve never worked harder in my life than the days leading up to the event. I’d rise at 5 a.m. to go to the flower market, create pieces for up to 14 hours a day and take trips to the botanical garden to start assembling my installation. I was running on pure adrenaline.

And it was all worth it. It moved me to watch people from every age and background reconnect with Mother Nature in a different way, and appreciate her as a source of both life & beauty. It delighted me to be playing a small role in this celebration of Black culture and artistry. As always, Black women used their imagination and intentionality to create space for us.