Martha's Greenhouse

In January of 2020, I entered my grandmother’s greenhouse for the first time in decades. Wary of animals that might have sheltered there, I ultimately came to find this small, nondescript building not only safe but full of symbolic treasures. First to greet me was an American Rose Annual dated 1959, the year I was born. It sat among pruning shears and evidence of other gardening tasks recently interrupted: my grandmother, however, had passed fifty years earlier. Some days later, a flurry of morning activity revealed a trapped dove that I was ultimately able to set free. And finally, the visit which inspired the Martha’s Greenhouse series occured when I went into the little building on a clear, windless day and suddenly, only one portion of the plastic roof began to gently stir. As I finished shooting, another section of the roof began to move. I sensed my grandmother and others were instructing me where to focus my camera. Could this all be a coincidence? Perhaps, but in my mind, these symbols together were reminders that although our loved ones may have passed, their spirits remain with us throughout our lives: loving us and guiding us to be our best selves. Martha Greenhouse draws together the force of spirit, the significance of our histories, the healing power of nature, the intersection of structure and sky, and most importantly, grace and gratitude. The series original prints on fabric allows viewers to experience the sensation that their ancestors and loved ones are right there with them, all the time.