Inverse Bloom

2024

Hand-pulped, embossed, and debased watercolor paper, watercolor, tulle, faux pearls, and mixed media.

61 x 28 x 28 in.



Inspired by the anatomy of a flower, Inverse Bloom transforms botanical form through inversion. While preserving the flower's natural color relationships, the sculpture turns the familiar bloom inside out, shifting upward growth into a wearable sculptural form.

The sculpture is constructed entirely from watercolor paper manipulated through multiple processes. The bodice was formed from hand-pulped watercolor paper, creating a richly textured surface that was later colored with watercolor pigments. The skirt is built from individually embossed and debossed sheets of watercolor paper, while the sculptural body form was hand-constructed from torn watercolor paper to create a contrasting texture. Layers of tulle and faux pearls extend the inverted bloom into a full-scale sculptural garment. Through the transformation of a familiar two-dimensional material into a dimensional form, Inverse Bloom explores perception, transformation, and the expressive possibilities of paper as sculpture.