Cherry Blossom Cards
A set of 5 assorted folded cards featuring the Cherry Blossom paintings.
Cherry Blossoms:
Perspectives of Impermanence primarily represent the transience of life, as the brief blooming period mirrors the short, beautiful, but fleeting nature of human existence. They also symbolize renewal and new beginnings, marking the start of spring. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has celebrated Japanese cherry blossoms since planting its first collection of trees in 1921. While Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossoms are famous, the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens holds the nation's most diverse collection, featuring over 200 trees and 42 cultivars of flowering cherries, creating a long-lasting spring display. My artist residency in Brooklyn gave me a new perspective not only on the Cherry Blossoms but also challenged some old, long-held beliefs I had on what it means to be an artist.
The color pink has long been a subject of controversy, with numerous meanings and symbolic interpretations throughout the centuries. In Japan, it is a symbol of masculinity and used for mourning slain samurai; in Korea, it is a sign of trustworthiness, and in China, it symbolizes love, joy, and good luck.
In Japan, there is a legend that each spring a fairy maiden hovers low in the warm sky, awakening the sleeping cherry trees to life with her delicate breath. I love this idea of a fairy maiden waking up the trees each spring.