I’ve had fun with a genre of light box work recently that involves arranging petals into abstract compositions. This is quite different conceptually from my botanical art—I use the petals like brush strokes to create an abstract composition such as a mandala, or something that is more a gesture than a flower.

Not that my passion for botanical art is going away anytime soon! In fact, Phyllis and I are hard at work on a new book, The Art of Photographing Flowers for Transparency. We also have two spaces left in our hands-on June workshop that teaches the floral transparency techniques.

But it is always good to experiment, both to recharge those creative batteries, and also because experimenting can take one beyond one’s limits and open new horizons.

Up to this point my “petal constructions” have been essentially flat, or two dimensional. For example, Stars of Petals and its variations.  I’ve also painted with petals to create version of iconic symbols, using Celtic designs, the Shahada of Islam, and apotropaic symbolism. Apotropaic symbols are magical mechanisms for warding off evil.

As noted, these designs depict two-dimensional space, e.g., perspective rendering is not part of the deal. With the Spiral Arm of the Petal Galaxy composition, shown in this story, I have ventured into the appearance of three-dimensions. This is a trend that I expect to continue. By the way, I encourage you to look at Spiral Arm of the Petal Galaxy in as large a size as possible (and to magnify the fractal heart of the spiral).

Now if I could only figure out how to render a fourth dimension!