“Protected”

I dipped into the abundance of beautiful flora discovered while floating dreamily through Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens with a camera in hand and a wildly beating heart. My eyes widened in awe as I took in the wonder of organic shapes, textures, forms, and glowing colors that added such vibrancy to the gray day filled with gentle rain. This small, vibrant yellow fruit in the cactus shone out from its protected place.

The photograph was printed onto archival paper, layered with molten encaustic medium fused between every layer, hand-carved to create rhythm and detail, and colored with powdered pigment to convey my experience of being with this otherworldly specimen of nature. It was mounted onto canvas before being placed in the magnetic wooden frame that can be removed if alternative framing is desired.