On Sunday, March 17, 2019, after returning to Santa Rosa, CA, from my artist in residency project “Guns into Flowers” in Sacramento with Natomas Charter School and sited at South Natomas Community Center Park, I went again to see my installation “Living Quilt for Santa Rosa” installed on Nov. 25, 2018, at Rincon Ridge Park in Santa Rosa, CA. I was so happy to see that some of the wildflowers that were in the handmade paper quilt are starting to bloom.

Here are a few photos of the Living Quilt for Santa Rosa when it was installed on Nov. 25, 2018, and a few photos of how it looks on March 17, 2019, when some of the flowers are starting to bloom. This installation has brought new life and some blooming flowers to the Fountaingrove area of Santa Rosa that was so heavily impacted by the devastating October 2018 wildfires.

Some of the Baby’s breath white flowers are blooming now, and I also spotted a California bluebell flower in bloom. None of the golden poppies or yellow wildflowers that were in the borders of the quilt are blooming yet, but hopefully they will start to bloom in a few more days.

The weather here is nice and sunny now, and the plants are growing taller. For some reason there seems to be an area on one side of the installation where no flowers are growing, and seeds did not sprout. With these installations that depend on nature as a partner, there is always some uncertainty about how it will turn out, but for me that is part of the exciting process of making art that is all biodegradable and designed to work with nature and change over time.

I will post more photos of Living Quilt for Santa Rosa as it continues to develop and change. Photos are all taken by my husband Timothy S. Allen (https://allentimphotos2.wordpress.com) Also, keep looking at this Blog for more photos of the “Guns into Flowers” art project in Sacramento that was installed on March 16, 2019.