Alchemist Artist · Nature, memory and transformation
The Butterfly Project
I started with seeds. Over the seasons, those seeds became a butterfly garden, and that garden became one of the most humbling experiences of my life. The Butterfly Project grew from caring for monarchs, photographing their transformations and finding ways to honor the lives I had watched unfold.
Outside of being a mother, few experiences have moved me as deeply as creating that habitat. There was joy in watching something so small grow, and pain in discovering how fragile a life could be. My butterfly art holds both.
A garden that taught me to pay attention
Building the butterfly habitat took two years. I began with seeds and gradually cultivated a space where I could observe monarchs through the stages of their lives. During two seasons of raising and watching them in the garden, their changes became part of my daily attention.
The garden asked me to slow down. An egg, a caterpillar or a chrysalis could become the center of my day. Caring for these small lives made transformation feel immediate and personal. It was happening in front of me, and I cared about what happened next.
Photographing the moment of emergence
My camera became a way to stay with those moments. I documented the stages of growth and the emergence of butterflies, preserving details that could otherwise pass quickly. The photographs let me return to that experience and share it with someone who had never stood beside me in the garden.
These images became the foundation of a larger project. Photography records what I witnessed. Sculpture gives me another way to hold the feelings that came with it: wonder, attachment, grief and gratitude.
Abby’s Eden
13 × 17 inches · Mixed media sculpture
Abby was the first butterfly born and bred in our garden. She returned to reproduce, and later she died. By then, she was part of the story of that place and my experience of caring for it.
Abby’s Eden brings together the chrysalises from that season, flowers from the garden and Abby herself. It preserves tangible pieces of the world she inhabited. Each element belongs to the same season of life, gathered into a work of remembrance.
For me, this sculpture holds more than the beauty of a butterfly. It holds the time spent watching, the hope attached to each emergence and the sadness of saying goodbye. It is a small garden of memory.
Butterfly Bones
16 × 13 inches · Mixed media sculpture
Butterfly Bones brings the project’s attention to life and death into another sculptural form. Its title places the delicacy of butterflies beside the enduring imagery of bones, holding beauty and mortality within the same work.
The sculpture also changes in appearance between ordinary light and darkness. Explore both photographs below to see how the glow changes your encounter with the piece.
What the garden left with me
The Butterfly Project honors an experience that changed how closely I look at the living world. I helped cultivate a habitat, but I could not control every outcome. Caring meant being present for joy and loss alike.
Through photographs and sculptures, I return to those seasons. Abby, the flowers, the empty chrysalises and the moments of emergence remain part of my work. They remind me that even a brief life can leave something lasting in the person who paid attention.