As I was first thinking about what to create for this piece, I noted what my immediate thoughts were in regards to what made me feel nostalgic: the smell of lavender. Plums. Figs. Soon, a garden was growing around me, each plant symbolizing something precious.
Every time I smell lavender, I see a flash of a midnight blue sky with golden moons and suns like the herb-filled heating pack my mom used to soothe sore tummies when I was little. Plums take me to my yiayia’s (“grandma” in Greek) spacious backyard, eating the abundance of sunset-centered fruit until my mouth and hands were sticky and I couldn’t eat anymore. Figs take me back to growing up on a beautiful 11-acre property on the days of each week I was at my mom’s house. The ancient-looking, gnarled trunks and branches held my siblings and I as we picked the magical fruit, splitting them open to reveal their sacred geometry but ultimately eating them whole if they were ripe enough. At the *heart* of the garden grows pomegranates, that ruby-filled fruit which symbolizes my Greek heritage. I never cared much for eating them but they remind me of my love for Greek mythology, the stories I’ve studied since I first learned how to read, asking my dad to quiz me on the gods and goddesses as we sat on the school bus for field trips, whispers of the evil eye from my yiayia. And, ultimately, the way my Greek heritage weaves ever-present through my spirituality and my art.
If you know my art, you know most of my pieces revolve around women, that constant divine feminine aspect. I’m often told the women I paint resemble me, but this one is actually an intentional self-portrait; it seemed only fitting. The half up, half down hairstyle is one I wore a lot growing up and what I actually called “a yiayia” because my yiayia would often do my hair like that for me. She also always wore gold hoop earrings, which is why I own a pair and is just one of the reasons I see her when I look in the mirror. I never wear blue eyeshadow but I chose it because it reminds me of when we’re young and play with those amateur makeup sets, the chalky colors applied messily but giving us such a euphoric feeling of grownup-ness.
It’s kind of a funny thing, what defines us. It could be a piece of fruit or a pair of earrings, something so universal and at the same time so minuscule, and all at once formative and individual - the roots in my Memory Garden.
To read the full story behind Memory Garden, visit the Stories page.
- Fine art print on archival quality matte paper
- 8"x10" // actual art area 6"x8" overlapping onto 1 inch border
- Hand signed on front bottom border
Printed and packaged with eco-conscious materials*
*Please refer to the FAQ page for more info on shipping