Artist Statement
“Mistress Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And marigolds all in a row.”
I created this series based on The Secret Garden, a 1911 novel about Mary, a sour child learning to be joyful through a newfound connection with nature. She creates a new life for herself with friends and meaning. To me, this story is about how the freedom to play and explore and have something to cherish. It is about the growth that comes with this kind of autonomy.
The Secret Garden holds a special place in my heart. My first time reading this book was with my mom. She read it to me as a bedtime story and used it to teach me how to read. Just as Mary created a world out of a garden, my mom created worlds out of stories, and I now create worlds out of art.
I used an Art Nouveau style, a popular art movement when the novel was written. The style focuses on botanical studies, flowing lines, and capturing the natural world. I feel this style best reflects Mary’s transition. Art nouveau is about freedom. About a release from tradition and the expectations that came with it. It was built off the concept of making art for art’s sake. Just as Mary learned to enjoy her life by living it, Art Nouveau was about enjoying art by creating it.