The Living Wall Project

Succulent cuttings to build a vertical succulent garden.

So why do I love succulents so much?  What makes these plants so amazing?  I often wonder this myself and while working through my "Living Wall Project" I think I have found some answers.  My love for succulents goes far deeper then the plants themselves.

My first vertical succulent garden made from an old wooden pallet.

​ I grew up in the foothills of California where succulents did not grow.  We never even heard of these plants in the 1990s.  
Then I graduated high school and it was time for college.  I moved to California’s Central Coast and discovered so many things.  It was a time in my life to celebrate this life I had been given and the earth I live on.  I wanted to soak everything up!  For the first time I was away from my parents and out in the world to see what I could see.  I met some wonderful people, saw some incredible things, and spent a lot of time at the ocean.  The temperate climate really agreed with me and there was a wonderful lightness and energy about life and the future possibilities.  Also, everywhere I turned I saw these amazing plants.  They mesmerized me with their colors, shapes, and sometimes dinosaur or alien like qualities.  I loved them.  They were so different and unique from other plants I was familiar with.  My family got annoyed (and probably still is) with my “oh look at those succulents,” comments as we walked down the street.  Some girls ooh and aw over puppies or babies, but I could not get enough succulents. 

I'm just a little baby cutting here. Waiting to grow some roots.

​As time went on I started painting and drawing them.  My love for these plants grew and  I spent a lot of time just gazing into their spirals of greens and blues.  Succulents became not just beautiful plants, but I realize now, they represent the time in my life that was all about opening yourself up to positive discovery and love.  My paintings of succulents and the bright colors I choose to represent them is a celebration of that time of discovery.  A time when you just want to soak it all in and enjoy the sunshine.  Not to mention these amazing plants can grow vertically!  They grow despite all odds, take advantage of a temperate climate, make the best out of any situation, and they remind me to do the same.  Is there a better way to live?

Succulents from my Living Wall project. Each started as an individual wood panel.

Visit my portfolio page to see the collages of succulents that make up my Living Wall Project.  And learn from a succulent a little.

The Living Wall Project will also be showing at Philz Coffee Davis for February and March