My sculpture installation in Sacramento about the issue of gun violence has completely transformed, and the handmade paper “guns” with seeds for wildflowers in the paper pulp have grown into a living bloom flower bed. The wildflowers that are blooming now in the installation are white cosmos, blue bachelor buttons, Baby’s breath, white linen poppies, and a few red wildflowers including some red poppies and scarlet flax. The white cosmos flowers are really dominating the space now, but the green foliage of this wildflower is very beautiful and almost fern-like. The headboard and footboard we constructed from local branches still seems quite strong. The weather in Sacramento has been cooperative this Spring with some rain, but hot sunny days are expected in the months ahead. Several days it has already been over 100 degrees F.

This installation was done during an artist in residency at Natomas Charter School Academy of Performing and Fine Arts, in Sacramento, from Feb. 25 to March 16, 2019. Art students at the school helped to make the handmade paper quilt and install it on March 16, 2019. The installation is on view for the public at South Natomas Community Center Park in the “poet’s park area.  These photos of the transformation were taken by my husband Timothy S. Allen (allentimohotos2.wordpress.com) on June 15, 2019, during a recent visit to Sacramento.  These photos show my “Guns into Flowers” installation on March 16, 2019, when it was installed.         

Keep watching this Blog for updated photos and more news about this art project as it continues to change over time.